


I LV You, sans

by Skelitzel



Series: Rewind [3]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Betrayal, Chara slowly gains more control over the reader's soul, Character Death, Corruption, Eventual Redemption, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Genocide, It's gonna get heavy, Manipulation, Not a lot though, Possible Spoilers, Soul Sharing, This could actually end up being longer than I originally planned, Will include multiple timelines, XD I'm terrible, and a hopeful ending, but so is chara, but there will be a hero :), is it wrong I'm excited after writing the first reader death?, it becomes chara's game after they take over reader's soul, it's gonna be a bad time, lonely, maybe fluff?, not entirely canon compliant, sans is gonna have a bad time, soul possession, soul purification?, there is some blood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-11
Updated: 2016-01-13
Packaged: 2018-05-06 02:26:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 38,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5399384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skelitzel/pseuds/Skelitzel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chara has corrupted the reader's mind and memories, and convinced them to play a genocide run. As they progress, Chara slowly gains more control over their soul. sans blames himself for feeling selfish, attacking the reader when they tried to help him, and wishing for a reset when reader fell for Papyrus. Can he SAVE them? How many times will he have to fight them before he gives up hope?</p>
<p>It's a three way battle between reader, Chara, and sans across timelines. </p>
<p>I recommend at least reading I Can't Say I Love You first.</p>
<p>Sequel to I Can't Say I Love You<br/>Prequel to Rewind and Replay<br/>(Alternate timelines are fun!)</p>
<p>Story actually arcs over many timelines, mainly focusing on the numerous genocide ones, but leads all the way up to the timeline directly before Rewind and Replay.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. File 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Treeni](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Treeni/gifts).



“Oh, now I see.” The stupid weed smirks at you and says, “Oh Chara, we could never really be separated could we?” Chara? Who’s Chara? “I have a plan to become all powerful, even more powerful than you and your stolen soul. Let’s destroy everything in this wretched world.” He snickers maliciously, “Everyone, everything in these worthless memories…let’s turn them all to dust!” He snickered again and disappeared into the soil.

Who was this Chara person? You wonder as you push open the large door blocking the exit. Ice and snow had frozen it shut, but after a few heaves you were able to open it enough to squeeze through. It returned to it’s resting spot with a dull clang.

You shiver against the sudden change in temperature, the icy wind biting at your exposed skin. Do you even have a name? You hadn’t really thought about that since finding yourself here. You tuck your hands in your sleeves, and cup them around your mouth as you walk along the path. Well, if the weed wants to call you that, maybe you’ll let him. Not like it mattered anyway.

You hear shuffling behind you. Sometimes it’s very close. Other times it sounds very far away. You smile softly to yourself, and wonder when your stalker will have the courage to confront you. For their sake, they shouldn’t.

Once a bridge is just at the tips of your toes, your body stops responding. You growl in frustration as your mind demands your legs to move. They refuse, and you can here the shuffling inch closer. Fine. We’ll play this game your way. You wait patiently as the shuffling becomes louder and your stalker approaches.

Finally a soft voice whispers, “human. don’t you know how to greet a new pal?” It sounds nervous, as it should be, but why already? You haven’t had the chance to kill any monsters here yet. “turn around and shake my hand.”

With that, your body is able to move again freely, and in gratitude you decided to oblige. Turning with a soft smile, you grasp the extended hand, and give it a light squeeze.

The sound of flatulence fills the silence between you.

The smile on your face is even more strained than before as the strange creature giggles in front of you. “ah the ol’ whoopee cushion in the hand trick.” He manages between chuckles, “it’s always funny.” He wipes a tear from his face and his smile falters as he meets your gaze, “uh, well i guess usually it is.”

You blink a few times as you try to process what you’re seeing. It’s a skeleton. A walking, talking skeleton. It’s boney fingers are still gently holding your hand. You fight back the urge to sneer. How disgusting.

You laugh politely and say, “Oh wow you are so clever! Caught me by surprise!” He seemed relieved with your response and released your hand. You couldn’t snatch it back fast enough.

He shoved his hands in his jacket pockets and grinned widely at you. Ugh, stop looking at me with those creepy glowing eye sockets. “my name’s sans. i’m supposed to be out lookin’ for humans-” he shrugs, “-but don’t feel like working today.”

“Oh wow! Lucky for me!” You giggle.

His grin grows wider still as he says, “heh yeah. anyway why don’t we head through this gate thing my brother built. it’s too wide to block anyone.”

As you cross he gently guides you to hide behind a conveniently shaped lamp. You want to resist, but decide to play along as he says that his brother is a human hunting fanatic and he’s not sure if now would be the best time to meet.

You settle in behind the lamp and decide you may as well use this opportunity to gain more intel on your targets. The tall one is called Papyrus, and seems a lot more…excitable than his shorter brother. You can also tell that while sans torments him with puns, he loves his brother dearly. You hum to yourself. You could use this.

After Papyrus runs off, sans calls you from your hiding place. You emerge and walk casually to him and ask, “So that’s your brother? He really takes his job seriously.”

“heh yeah he’s pretty cool.” He seems so proud of his brother.

You frown slightly and say, “But if he’s looking for a human to become a Royal Guard, won’t that be a problem for me?”

sans shrugs and gives you a playful shove, “nah he wouldn’t hurt a fly even if he tried. but…it would make him really happy to see a human. if you wouldn’t mind…”

“Sure! I’d love to get to know him and maybe even be his friend.”

He smiles happily again and says, “he has a lot of puzzles he’ll probably make you do, but don’t worry-“ he winks, “-i’ll keep an eye socket out for ya.”

As if I need it. You smile again and reply, “That’d be great! I can’t wait to see what kind of puzzles he has. Where do I go?”

He jerks his thumb behind him. “just follow that path. papyrus will probably be patrolling nearby. i’ll catchup later.”

“Ok!” You wave and smile smugly once he can no longer see your face.

You won’t kill them yet.

No.

That wouldn't be as fun.

It’s time to play.


	2. Dogaressa

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! Third story! I can honestly say I never expected to write so much, but I love it! <3
> 
> I just wanted to say thank you to all the nice people I've met, and all the people who subscribe to my stories! (Some have even subscribed to me o.O) That's just so amazing to me to know that people out there really like my work! And I know there are some out there that don't have accounts on here that keep an eye out for me and that's just so wonderful thank you! :*
> 
> Huge shout outs to my pals Treeni and scottyzelsnyder!! They've been with me since I started, and kept me going with their amazing puns and advice. They've also been working hard on their own stories, and you should check them out!

The kid seemed…different this time. You sighed to yourself sadly as you watch their retreating back. It didn’t seem like they remembered you this time again. On the other boney hand, they didn’t seem to remember Papyrus either. You smile to yourself despite feeling ashamed at the selfish thought, maybe this time you could have a chance to get back what you had lost.

Although…

A trickle of worry dances down your spine. The kid hasn’t ever been so stiff before. You decide to hurry on and catch up to Papyrus. You were probably overthinking it. The kid would thaw out after a few good laughs and bad jokes. You smile to yourself at the pun.

“sup bro?” you say as you suddenly appear at Papyrus’ side.

“ACK! SANS! WHY MUST YOU ALWAYS DO THAT!?” he exclaims.

You grin and say, “sorry bro. did i give you a heart attack?”

He sighs and says, “SANS WE ARE SKELETONS WE DON’T HAVE HEAR-“ His eye sockets narrow and he glares at you. “WAIT. WAS THAT A JOKE?”

Your only response is a snicker.

“SAAAANS!!” He exclaims again, causing you to laugh even more.

The human finally caught up. You smile at them. Right on time. Gaze flicking back to your brother you ask, “hey, bro, what’s that over there?”

His skull is a blur as he looks to you and then the kid, then you, then the kid, and so on. Finally he stops and exclaims, “I HAVE NO IDEA!”

God your brother was so great. “i think it’s a rock.” you say between snickers.

He gazes in the direction of the human thoughtfully for a moment, and then nods. “YES YOU ARE RIGHT. THAT IS INDEED A ROCK.”

“hey what’s that in front of the rock?”

He looks in the direction of the kid once more and his jaw drops. “I-IS TH-THAT A HUMAN?!”

“yeah i think so.”

“OH. MY. GOD!! SANS! A HUMAN! THERE’S A HUMAN!!”

“really? where?”

“ARGH SANS FOR THE LOVE OF- RIGHT THERE!!” You try to hide your smile as he frantically gestures to the kid. You can’t help but push his buttons. He gets flustered way too easily.

“oh, now i see it.”

“HONESTLY SANS I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH YOU.” Papyrus sighs heavily and strikes his classic pose, cape fluttering in the wind. “HUMAN! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM GOING TO CAPTURE YOU! THERE ARE MANY PUZZLES THAT AWAIT YOU! I WILL BE SURPRISED IF YOU MAKE IT PAST ONE! AND IF YOU MAKE IT-“

“-pasta two-“ You interject.

“AGH SANS! DON’T INTERRUPT! AND WITH A PUN!” He stamps his foot and you wink at the kid who is…just staring…blankly. Ah, well if this is their ‘first’ time meeting you, it could be a little strange. “ANYWAY YES IF YOU MAKE IT PASSST-“ Papyrus enunciated the ’T’ in past, making it clear that the word was meant to end there, “-TWO PUZZLES I WILL BE MOST IMPRESSED AND MAY REWARD YOU WITH A CULINARY MASTERPIECE!”

Papyrus turned to leave, and tried to mutter to you, “I SHOULD PROBABLY GO MAKE SURE THE THIRD PUZZLE WORKS…JUST IN CASE!” He skipped away excitedly chattering on about meeting a human and the Royal Guard.

Your chest starts to thrum happily as the kid approaches. Even if they don’t remember you. Even if they don’t choose you again. You can’t stop yourself from feeling the love you both had shared before.

“h-hey kid.” You say nervously, and clear your nonexistent throat.

The human is standing at your side now, staring after Papyrus. They tilt their head to the side and look at you with a small smile. “He’s pretty energetic isn’t he?”

“yeah. it’s nice seeing him so happy.”

The human pursed their lips thoughtfully for a moment and then looked straight into your eye sockets. “It’s interesting how different siblings can be, isn’t it?”

“uh, yeah.” You say, a little confused.

Their grin widens. “If he’s the cool, fun, energetic one, what does that make you?”

“uh…” You know your brother’s cool. He’s very cool. He’s the best brother anyone could ask for. You’ve never wanted to be cooler or even as cool as him before. So why did those words sting? “well, uh, i’m just a lazybones heh heh…” you answer lamely.

The human closes their eyes and nods simply. “That would make sense.” You flinch slightly at their words, but they continue, “One is energetic, while the other is calm and lazy. I suppose it could be exhausting to have a brother that has so much energy.” They smile after Papyrus again and a familiar twang of jealousy thrums within your ribcage as they say, “He does seem like he’d be a lot of fun though.”

“y-yeah, i uh, gotta go take care of a few things. i’ll check on you in a bit ok?” You say hurriedly and teleport away before the kid has a chance to respond.

You rest the back of your skull against a tree and let out a low groan. It’s happening again. The kid is going to start to fall for Papyrus all over again. You try to quell the jealousy growing within as you let yourself sink into the snow and rest your hand on your sternum. That’s ok. You try to tell yourself that it’s fine. Papyrus can have the kid again if he wants. It’s fine.

Why wouldn’t he want them?

They were so kind, beautiful, funny, alive…they made you feel loved and happy deep within your bones…

No. You push yourself back up off the ground and clench a fist. You may accept if the human chooses Papyrus, but you will not give up until they do. You gave up on so much and cared about hardly anything until your timeline with the human. You’d do whatever you could to get that back again, but only if the kid wanted it too.

You had to do something you’ve never really done before.

Try.

Your ribcage thrummed as you felt the love you had once shared fill you with purpose. Yes, the human may have forgotten, and may never remember again, but you would never forget. You’d help them make new memories.

You grin happily and look for glitches in space that will bring you to Papyrus. Finding one and jumping, you quickly find yourself at his side and the human is staring down at the piece of paper you had left on the ground.

“-THIS ONE WAS PREPARED BY MY BROTHER WHO I CAN’T SEEM TO FIND RIGHT NOW-“

“sup, bro.” you say casually.

Papyrus jumps up in surprise again, and glares at you. “WOULD YOU QUIT PRANKING ME THROUGH TIME AND SPACE!” He didn’t wait for your rebuttal, and turned back to the human, “ANYWAY AS I WAS SAYING THIS PUZZLE WAS MADE BY MY BROTHER AND IS SO COMPLEX I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT IT IS!”

The human raises a brow, walks to the paper, and picks it up. “It’s a word search.” They say simply.

“SANS! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO GIVE THEM A DIFFICULT PUZZLE!”

“yeah, i shoulda used today’s crossword.”

“I don’t have a pen.” the human mumbles and sets the paper back down, and continues forward.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN CROSSWORD? EVERYONE KNOWS THAT JUNIOR JUMBLE IS THE HARDEST!”

“but that’s for baby bones.”

Papyrus scoffed, “WHATEVER. YOU JUST DON’T UNDERSTAND THE RULES OF JUNIOR JUMBLE. AND LOOK! YOUR PUZZLE DIDN’T EVEN SLOW THE HUMAN, THEY’RE RIGHT HERE!” He points at the human with one of his gloved hands, almost poking them in the nose.

“Boop.” the human says simply as they reach up and meet Papyrus’ extended finger with their own.

“AH! HUMAN WHY DID YOU DO THAT!?” He exclaims as he snatches his hand back.

The kid sticks out their tongue and crosses their arms. “It’s not nice to point.”

Papyrus blushes a bit and says, “YOU’RE RIGHT I’M SORRY. I DID NOT MEAN TO BE RUDE. I UH NEED TO GO PREPARE THE TRAP I-I MEAN SNACK.”

After he left, you glanced back at the human, and noticed their dirty clothes and ruffled hair. “hey, what happened to you?”

“I uh tripped.”

You grinned, “No need to fall kid, it’s always winter here.”

The human just rolled their eyes and shook their head. At least they seemed to be thawing out a little more with you.

They opened their mouth to say something more, but were interrupted when Dogamy ran up to you. You shielded the kid from his view, just to be on the safe side, and waited until his panting settled enough for him to speak clearly.

“Have you seen Dogaressa?” he whined and sniffed the air nervously.

“no, i haven't sorry.” 

He whimpered, “O-ok. If you do let me know ok? We separated to patrol the forest, but she’s late regrouping.” He let out a small, sad yelp. “I-I don’t like being away from her.”

“if i see her i’ll let you know.”

He whined again, but his big eyes seemed appreciative. “Thanks.” he said and ran off howling Dogaressa’s name.

“He must love her a lot.” The kid says at your back, startling you.

“yeah, they definitely have something more than just puppy love.” You grin at the kid and they chuckle softly.

“I’m sure they’ll be together again soon.”


	3. That Comedian...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me a few days to get this posted. Holiday parties and awkward family gatherings and work~
> 
> And thanks to Treeni for giving me an idea for a more subtle hint of monsters...disappearing...

_  
‘I…I’m not sure if what you told me was true.’ the little idiot says._

_‘Really? Why’s that?’ you ask nonchalantly._

_‘The monsters…they’ve been so nice to me. I don’t think they’d hurt me.’_

_You snicker quietly to yourself and say, ‘But that’s how they fool you, remember? They lie and pretend to be nice and innocent to fool you before they take your soul.’_

_‘I don’t know…my memories are so fuzzy.’_

_‘Would you like me to remind you what they’ve done?’ you purred._

_‘No!’ the little fool answers quickly and you relish in the fear that creeps into their mind._

_‘I don’t appreciate that you doubt me. I thought you trusted me.’ You add a lilt of hurt in your voice as you speak, and smile as the idiot winces. It was almost no fun how easy it was to manipulate them. Almost._

_‘I-I do! It’s just that…they seemed so nice and funny and…’_

_‘Sounds like you don’t trust me at all. Perhaps you do need another reminder.’ you say sharply. So what if you have manipulated their memories and twisted their perceptions?_

_‘Please don’t! I’m sorry. Please don’t show me them again. Please…don’t…it hurts…’ the fool pleads and whines._

_‘Do you trust me?’_

_‘I-I…’_

_‘Do you trust me?’ you ask, feeling quite pleased you were keeping your voice from turning into a growl so well._

_‘I trust you…’ the idiot replies weakly._

_‘Alright. I won’t force you to relive them for now.’ You sneer. That’s it. The more the fool gives in, the more control over their soul you gain._

_Idiot._

__

* * *

“kid? kid?!” you say frantically, holding them tight in your arms.

“sans! Don’t squeeze them so tight! They won’t be able to breathe!” a rabbit sister scolds you, and tugs your arms away from the human.

“i’m sorry i-i’m just worried. they collapsed in the snow and i couldn’t…i couldn’t wake them up.”

The rabbit sister pats your arm consolingly and smiles at your distraught grin. “It’ll be ok. Just let them rest. They’re safe now. I’ll keep an eye on them.”

She walked over to the human and rested a paw on their forehead, nodding in approval and stating that they didn’t have a fever. “I’m sure they were just exhausted. Why don’t you go get a bite to eat? Maybe rest a little as well? I’ll let you know when they wake up.”

“ok…” you say hesitantly, knowing that was her polite way of shooing you away. You turned to leave, shooting one more worried glance at the kid before leaving. Please don’t leave me again, kid.

* * *

Finally. Your eyes fly open as the door shuts with a click. You’re alone in the room. You were beginning to wonder if the stupid rabbit would ever leave. It had started to get difficult pretending to be asleep. You smile to yourself and check the blade hidden within your sleeve, sighing with relief once you confirm it’s still there. Gaze cast to the window, your eyes narrow at your own reflection.

Now.

The skeletons were out of the way. There were a lot of monsters in Snowdin, and while you were sure that the majority of them were weak, you preferred to thin out the numbers further before making your mission known. You quietly get out of the bed, lock the door, and sneak to the window. Fortunately, you’re on the bottom floor and can easily escape. You swap the sweats the rabbit had dressed you in for your jeans and tug on your boots.

Dogamy.

You’ll need to silence him. If he continues asking around for Dogaressa, someone might try to help search for her. The monsters will get worried. They might realize what happened. Then they may find you. You look back to the door again as you slowly slide the window open. Yes, Dogamy is a necessary target, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take out a few other small monsters too.

You land softly in the snow and loosen the vines around the blade. Smirking to yourself and ducking into the trees, you move silently within the grove behind Snowdin.

Time to go hunting.

* * *

The rabbit sister was right. The world hadn’t disappeared. They were still here. Everything was still here. You were worried about the kid, but getting some food had helped settle your nerves. Heh heh. Maybe they’d be hungry too once they woke up.

“hey, grillby? could i get a burg to go?” you ask as you wave the flamesman over.

He just nods simply and disappears into the back, only to return shortly with a takeout bag.

“thanks. just put it on my tab.” you say as you take the bag. If the flamesman had eyes, you could’ve sworn he rolled them. Chuckling to yourself you head back out into the cold to return to the inn. You know you were driving the rabbit monster crazy with your hovering, but you can’t help it. You want to be there when the kid wakes up again.

You zip the food inside your jacket, hoping that even though you lack body heat, keeping it out of the snowy air will help it stay warm. As you stroll through the small town, not bothering to teleport a short distance, you hear a passing conversation:

“Please can you help me?” A yellow female rabbit monster asks.

“No you really creep me out.” replies a blue rabbit.

“But I can’t find my brother!”

“Well maybe you should stop treating him like a pet!”

Their argument fades behind you and you shake your head. That girl was odd, but maybe there was a reason she kept her brother on a leash. He must’ve run away. Or maybe he ran away because she always put him on a leash? You shrug to yourself and enter the inn. Snowdin isn’t that big. He’d probably turn up soon.

* * *

Shit. That stupid skeleton is already making his way back to the inn. You had spotted him just as you finished off that pain in the ass Jerry. Although you felt more like you were doing everyone else a favor. No one seemed to like Jerry. You growl in frustration as you conceal your blade and run through the trees. You had really hoped you would be able to make more progress, but you had been able to eliminate Dogamy, Jerry, and a few other small monsters.

You reach the still open window and start to climb up, but freeze as the door handle jiggles. Your heart stops as you stare at the door, and breathe a sigh of relief as you realize it was still locked. You push yourself up and forward, but miss your mark and fall to the floor with a thump.

“kid? what was that noise?” that skeleton’s voice calls in concern, muffled by the door.

“I’m fine!” you answer. Please just go away. 

The door handle jiggles more and you quickly kick off your snow covered shoes and jeans, stashing them under the bed. 

You’re pulling on the borrowed sweats as sans asks, “why is the door locked? are you ok?”

“I’m good.” you say and straighten out the waistband. The door handle glows blue and the lock turns before you have the chance to dive into the bed and hide under the covers. Thinking fast you lay on the ground with one leg up on the mattress, tangling it in the sheets for good measure.

sans enters the room and gasps when he sees you. You fake a groan and he asks, voice laced with worry, “are you ok? what happened?!”

“I fell down…” You wince in pain and throw your forearm onto your forehead. “I was just trying to close the window, but then my legs gave out underneath me.”

He sets the bag he was carrying down on a table and leans over you, reaching out to the arm that concealed the blade. “here let me help you up.”

“No!” you say a little to sharply, and his eye sockets widen in surprise. You whine again and use that arm to wrap around your middle and roll over, groaning in ‘pain’. “I’m really ok…” you say weakly as you roll around, making sure your other arm is closest to him. “Don’t worry about me. Really. I’m fine.” Nice move. Pretending to be weak. This may help keep them fooled for a little while longer.

“you don’t have tibia tough, kid. let me help you.” he says as he lifts you by the arm, and gently guides you to the bed. He shuts the window, adjusts the sheets and covers until he’s confident you’re warm, and then sits at the end. “you really scared me, kiddo.” he whispers, gaze focused on his hands.

You smile sweetly and say, “Thank you, but I really am alright.” You glance at the bag he had brought and raise an eyebrow. “What’s that for?”

His cheekbones glowed with a light blue tinge. Monsters are so weird. He mumbled, “well, i wasn’t sure if you might be hungry after you woke up…” His words drifted off toward the end, and he scratched the back of his skull lightly as he chuckled to himself.

Your smile widens and you place a hand on his radius, quite pleased at yourself for not cringing as you feel the bone beneath the cloth of his jacket. “Thank you, sans. You’re such a good friend for taking care of me.”

The blue on his cheekbones glows brighter and he meets your gaze for a moment, but shifts away again with a nervous laugh. 

Two can play at this game sans.

You’ve fooled me before.

Now it’s my turn.


	4. Wrong Choice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So as I mentioned before things are going to happen that aren't entirely canon or in the order that would happen if you played the Genocide Route. The reader fights Papy in this chapter, but Papy has not been killed.

It’s only been a few days since the kid had collapsed just outside of Snowdin. You tried to convince them to stay and rest, but they were determined to continue on. When you failed to talk them into staying at least one more night, you went to Papyrus and begged him to not fight the human. He just patted you on the shoulder and said he wouldn’t hurt the human, but it was his duty as a future Royal Guard to capture the human.

That didn’t mean you wouldn’t keep an eye socket on the fight and step in if things got out of hand. The kid was doing pretty well until Papyrus used his blue attack. You watched them struggle and strain against the gravity. Sweat dripped down their forehead with effort as they tried to jump over the bones.

They tripped and fell on the ground. Spitting out snow the kid says, “Come on Papyrus, I don’t have a bone to pick with you.”

Papyrus screamed in frustration and his next attacks were unsteady, flying right passed the kid. They smiled as they realized the more flustered he was, the easier it would be to dodge. They winked and said, “Gee, Paps. You’re so strong I don’t think I’ll be able to best you.”

“ACK! ARE YOU FL-FLIRTING WITH ME?!” he exclaims, bones flying to the left of the human.

They grinned more. “I suppose. I can’t help it. The Great Papyrus is simply the best there is.”

“Q-QUIT IT! WE CAN DATE LATER AFTER I CAPTURE YOU!” The bones quiver and shake, and don’t reach the human this time before they disappear.

“You’ve already captured my heart~” the kid calls in a singsong voice. You smile with a slight wince. Nice pun, but it hurt a little.

The attacks stop and Papyrus sinks to his knees. “NYOO HOO HOO. I’LL NEVER BECOME A ROYAL GUARD. I CAN’T EVEN STOP A WEAK HUMAN, AND I’VE RUN OUT OF MAGIC.”

The kid walks up and pats his skull. He looks up through the tears and they smile sweetly. “I think you’re very strong Papyrus. Your fighting skills were impressive.”

The tears have disappeared as he jumps up and strikes a pose, cape fluttering in the breeze. “WHY OF COURSE! I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS! AND UNDYNE HAS TRAINED ME FOR MANY MONTHS!

“Who’s Undyne?” the kid asks.

“WHY SHE IS THE HEAD OF THE ROYAL GUARD! ONE DAY SHE WILL LET ME BE A GUARD TOO, BUT SHE SAYS I MUST TRAIN.”

“Wow. You sound pretty determined. When do you think you’ll become a guard?”

Papyrus falters a bit, and rubs the back of his skull. He mumbles sheepishly, “I UH WELL I’M NOT SURE WHEN BUT I TRUST THAT SHE WILL LET ME KNOW WHEN I’M READY.”

The kid grins again, within an odd gleam in their eye, and says, “Well I hope you reach your goal soon.”

Papyrus blushes and fidgets from foot to foot. “TH-THANK YOU HUMAN! UM, IF YOU ARE NOT IN TOO MUCH OF A HURRY…WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO ON THE DATE WITH ME BEFORE YOU LEAVE?”

You take that as your cue to return home. You didn’t want Papyrus to get there first and worry about where you were. You find a glitch in space that brings you to your favorite spot on the couch and settle in, turning on the TV but not really paying attention to it. Within moments Papyrus bursts through the door, and the human follows tentatively behind.

“hey, bro. how’d it go?” you say with a yawn as if you had been there the whole time.

“AH WELL THE FIGHT PART DIDN’T GO SO GREAT BUT…THE HUMAN AND I DECIDED WE WOULD GO ON A DATE!” Papyrus blushed and scratched at the back of his skull.

“oh, well have fun. just be sure to not jump their bones.” you say with a wink, “it’s only the first date.”

The human’s eyes widen and Papyrus’ cheekbones glow pink. “SANS! THAT IS NOT APPROPRIATE!” He turns to apologize to the human as you snicker, but straightens up again and exclaims, “ARGH I JUST REALIZED IT WAS A PUN TOO! UNBELIEVABLE.”

He shakes his head as he turns to the kid again, and you flick a glance to them as well. They have a small smile, but you’re disappointed you didn’t get them to blush or laugh. “HUMAN! THIS IS WHERE I LIVE! FEEL FREE TO WALK AROUND AND EXPLORE.”

The human nods simply and wanders around the kitchen as Papyrus chatters on about each thing they look at. He even spins a lengthy tale about how he found the perfect tile for the kitchen floor. You sigh as he proudly exclaims that he ‘feeds’ your neglected pet rock with sprinkles and conceal a grin as he shoots you a pointed look. The human just follows patiently, nodding and smiling as he excitedly continues on.

When they finally make it to the living room the human surprises both of you by giggling and plopping onto the couch. Your ribcage thrums unevenly as they fall and brush against your arm. You feel the magic within your cheekbones tingle as you meet the humans eyes and they smile at you. You open your mouth to say something, but notice Papyrus giving you a strange look. You shake your head quickly and say, “sorry i just remembered i have a very important nap i need to take.”

“SANS WAIT A SEC-“ Papyrus started to say but you were already gone. You sighed and leaned against your bedroom door trying to calm the thrumming within your chest. The kid almost always went on a date with Papyrus. You hadn’t given up hope yet, but you didn’t want to sabotage your brother either. 

You heard him invite the human to see his room and moved over to the wall that you shared. Leaning your spine against the wood, you quietly settled down onto the ground. You weren’t trying to listen to their conversation. You weren’t straining to hear what the kid was saying. You definitely didn’t sigh with relief when you heard the word ‘platonically’ in Papyrus’ voice as he gave them his phone number to call.

Nope.

You were just relaxing against the wall. Too lazy to even walk across the room to your bed. It’s not uncommon for you to fall asleep randomly on the floor. It was too much effort to move the large ball of sheets and crawl under the askew blanket.

You jumped slightly when you hear a soft knock on the door. “BROTHER?” Papyrus says.

“y-yeah?” you answer as you stand up.

“THE HUMAN HAS LEFT NOW. CAN I TALK TO YOU?”

“sure i’ll be right down.” Uh oh. Had he noticed?

You try your best to make your smile sincere as you nervously make your way down the steps. Papyrus isn’t looking at you. His gaze is focused on his clenched hands. He doesn’t acknowledge your presence until you sit beside him.

His eye sockets are wide and sad as he says, “I-I THINK I MADE A WRONG CHOICE.”

“what do you mean, bro?” you ask, confused.

He sighs sadly and looks down at his hands again, “I-I DIDN’T LIE EXACTLY…I’M NOT AS DEEPLY IN LOVE WITH THE HUMAN AS THEY ARE WITH ME BUT…I DO LIKE THEM. MORE THAN A FRIEND.”

You furrow your brow bones and ask, “then why did you tell them you only wanted to be friends?”

He looks at you with a sheepish grin and says, “BECAUSE YOU LIKE THEM TOO.”


	5. Wishes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to clarify...Chara hasn't fully gained control over the reader's soul yet. Since the reader disobeyed Chara and stayed in Snowdin, Chara has retreated within their mind and allowed the reader to be more dominant of their actions in this chapter.

You decided to stay in Snowdin for a few days, and Chara was not pleased. They yelled and screamed at you the night after you had gone on a date with the taller skeleton. You really hadn’t meant for that to happen, but it was actually kind of…fun. Chara had told you that you were making a mistake, and only making your death more painful. They faded away after they told you that you should just wipe out all of Snowdin and move on. However, even though they didn’t speak, you could sense displeasure within the back of your mind.

But…the skelebros had invited you to watch movies and eat popcorn. You didn’t really understand what all the excitement about a rectangular robot named Mettaton was, but his acting wasn’t too bad. Papyrus seemed to think he was the greatest thing since dried pasta noodles.

You kept yourself guarded as you talked to them. The voice had kept you safe so far, and even though you weren’t obeying them right now, you knew it only wanted what was best for you. You just wanted to…pretend for a moment. To go along with the monsters’ cruel plans. Pretend they were nice. Pretend they wanted to be friends with you. Pretend that someone actually cared about you.

“HUMAN! WOULD YOU LIKE TO COME OVER TO EAT DINNER WITH SANS AND I TOMORROW NIGHT? IT’S SPAGHETTI NIGHT!” Papyrus beamed at you as the movie had ended.

“every night is spaghetti night.” sans said with a yawn.

Papyrus glowered at his brother and retorted, “AND THAT’S WHY EVERY NIGHT IS THE BEST NIGHT EVER!” He grinned at you again and asked, “WILL YOU, HUMAN?”

“Uh…” you say, head moving left and right as you glance between the brothers. Why did you decide to sit in the middle of the couch?

sans leaned on the armrest, cupping his jaw in his hand and said, “c’mon kid you don’t have tibia so shy-” his grin widened “-we don’t bite.”

Well that definitely didn’t help make this any less awkward. Ah well, may as well taunt him back. “What if I want you to?”

You could’ve sworn you saw him gulp even though he had no throat and his cheekbones glowed blue. The lights of his eye sockets flickered back and forth between your eyes, and you started to feel embarrassed as the blue spread across his face.

“Sorry that was dumb of me to say.” You mumble and hide your face in your hands.

“THAT’S OK HUMAN! SANS SAYS A LOT OF DUMB THINGS.” Papyrus chimes in and you chuckle as sans glares at him.

“Alright, alright. I’ll come back tomorrow night, but after that I really do need to get going.” you say as you stand, heading for the exit.

“LET ME GET THE DOOR FOR YOU!” Papyrus says cheerfully as he opens the door and waves goodbye when you step out into the cold.

* * *

Papyrus gives you a smug grin from the door.

“what?” you ask, slouching further into the couch.

“OH NOTHING.” He says, smile growing wider as he settles into his seat again.

You can still feel the magic tingle within your cheekbones, and you try to focus on the TV and ignore Papyrus’ giggling.

“can you just patella me what’s so funny?” you ask with a sigh.

“YES, AND I’LL IGNORE THAT WHILE I DO SO.” he said and pulled up his left leg onto the couch and turned so he could face you. He looked absolutely giddy, bouncing up and down with his smug grin. “SO. THE HUMAN HUH?” He waggled his brow bones and the tingling under your cheekbones increased. “NICE MOVE THERE. YOU EVEN GOT THEM TO FLIRT BACK A LITTLE.”

You glance back at the TV and slouch further, trying to hide your face within the bunched fabric of your hood. “i don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“NYEH HEH HEH I THINK YOU DO, BROTHER.” He stood up quickly, with his left leg still propped up on the couch, and struck his fist against his sternum. “BUT DO NOT THINK YOU HAVE WON JUST YET! FOR I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE NOT GIVEN UP!”

You just shake your head and continue to watch TV. You feel the couch shift as he stands up fully, and walks over to kneel in front of you. His eye sockets are serious as he says, “BUT I DO NOT WANT YOU TO GIVE UP EITHER, BROTHER. I KNOW YOU’RE A LAZY BONES, BUT DO NOT WORRY ABOUT HURTING ME IF THE HUMAN CHOOSES YOU.” He smiles happily, “I’M OK WITH LOSING TO THE SECOND BEST, BECAUSE YOU’RE THE BEST BROTHER ANYONE COULD EVER HAVE!”

* * *

Papyrus had already opened the door and ushered you inside before you could knock.

“SANS!” He called as you kicked the snow off your boots and stepped inside, “THE HUMAN IS HERE!”

“i know bro, been here the whole time.” he says as he suddenly appears at the table with his feet propped up.

Papyrus sighs and mutters, “I’M GOING TO GET DINNER STARTED.”

sans is watching you with a strange glow in his eye sockets. It didn’t seem menacing, but it made you nervous. You quickly followed after Papyrus and managed to say shyly, “Um, do you mind if I help?”

“REALLY? YOU WANT TO HELP? WOWIE!” He says as he grabs your hand and pulls you too the kitchen. You feel sans’ gaze follow your back, but you do your best to ignore it.

Cooking with Papyrus was definitely an experience. He didn’t really have a plan in mind as far as spices or edible materials that he wanted to add to the sauce. You had managed to convince him to let you handle the sauce, but every now and then you had to turn down the heat so the pot of noodles wouldn’t boil over. You also had to keep an eye on the sauce because whenever you turned your back you could see him try to sneak in some glitter or random spices.

Papyrus refused to let you help set the table and serve the food. He insisted that since you were the guest, he would do it. He was very adamant even though you pointed out that he had let you help him cook.

You sat down across from sans, and Papyrus proudly set the dishes in front of each of you. He also set down condiment bottles and napkins. You raised an eyebrow, but didn’t want to be rude and question it. Papyrus sat down and you swirled some noodles onto your fork. You were actually a little nervous about how it turned out. It’s been a long time since you’ve tried to cook anything. You were also very curious to see the skelebros eat, but were afraid you might end up staring.

You were so focused on your own plate that you didn’t realize sans was trying to get your attention. “S-sorry, what?”

He just smiled. “could you pasta me the ketchup?”

“Sure.”

“SANS!” Papyrus exclaims as you hand it to him. He squirts some on his spaghetti and then takes a huge swig straight from the bottle.

You must’ve been staring because after a moment sans chuckles and says, “sorry i should’ve asked if you wanted some first.”

“N-no thank you!” you say and turn your focus back to the food.

“YOU KNOW, HUMAN. YOUR COOKING SKILLS ARE QUITE WONDERFUL.” Papyrus said thoughtfully, “I THINK THAT MY FRIEND UNDYNE WOULD LOVE GIVING YOU A COOKING LESSON TOO.”

“papyrus i dunno if that’s a good idea-“

“NONSENSE! UNDYNE IS GREAT!” He pulls out his phone and starts to dial. “I’M GOING TO CALL HER RIGHT NOW AND SET UP A LESSON FOR YOU!”

“but papyrus-“

“Oh, that’s ok! I don’t want to impose on anyone, and I’ve already put off going back to the surface long enough.”

“TOO LATE! THE NUMBER’S ALREADY DIALED AND SHE LIVES IN WATERFALL TOO. SHE MAY ACTUALLY BE ABLE TO HELP YOU REACH THE KING.” 

Once he leaves, you and sans exchange worried glances.

_Chara?_ You reach into your mind hoping your friend will answer. 

_Oh, so now that things are scary you suddenly need me again?_

_I-I’m sorry I just wanted-_

_I don’t want to hear it. You said you trusted me. I’m hurt._ A wave of guilt washes over you as you feel Chara’s pain.

“ALRIGHT IT’S SETTLED! UNDYNE WAS A LITTLE MAD AT ME AT FIRST FOR BEFRIENDING THE HUMAN, BUT I EXPLAINED EVERYTHING AND SHE’S REALLY CURIOUS TO TRY YOUR SPAGHETTI!” Papyrus announced, but you barely heard him.

_Please, Chara, don’t be mad. Will you help me?_

_Why should I? You knowingly walked into their trap._

“kid? you there?” sans asked looking concerned. 

“Y-yeah, sorry.” 

He smiled softly and said, “you sure like to daydream a lot, don’t cha?”

“I TOO LIKE TO DAYDREAM!” Papyrus blurts out and you and sans stare at him blankly. He blushes and starts to explain, “UH WELL I MEAN I DAYDREAM ABOUT MY WISH…”

“Wish?” you ask curiously. Chara retreats back within your mind.

“YES! ONE DAY I WISH TO DRIVE ON THE HIGHWAY IN A CONVERTIBLE AND FEEL THE SUN ON MY SKIN!”

You want to point out that he has no skin, but he looks so happy you can’t bring yourself to say it.

sans chuckles. “that’s a really cool wish, bro. i hope it comes true.”

“Do you have one too?” you ask and he blushes blue.

“uh, well…i just want to see the sun and the stars…”

_You see? They don’t care about you._

“WHAT ABOUT YOU, HUMAN? DO YOU HAVE A WISH?”

_All they care about is reaching the surface._

“yeah come on kid. no need tibia shy.”

_They know they have to kill you and take your soul to break the barrier._

“I…well…I…”

_They DON’T care._

Your shoulders sag and you mumble at your plate of spaghetti, “I wish…I had someone important to me, and that I was important to someone. I wish I had someone to care for and who cared about me.”

You glance up to both skeletons, but neither of them are looking at you. Both of their faces glow in shades of pink and blue. How strange. Do monsters blush like humans, or does that mean something else?

_I care about you._

_You do? Even though I made you mad?_

_Yes. I truly want to help you. But I need you to trust me._

_They were so nice to me…_

_That’s how they fool you. Papyrus announced to Undyne that you’ll be in Waterfall soon. She’s the leader of the Royal Guard. She’s going to kill you._

“HUMAN?” “kid?” the skelebros say together as they each rest a hand on your shoulders. You look up into their eye sockets, heart in your throat. You’re afraid. They’re monsters. They’re going to hurt you. You had started to fall for their act, but you knew they would kill you the moment you let your guard down.

“kid, maybe you should stay the night. head to waterfall tomorrow.” sans whispers, eye sockets glowing with feigned concern.

“YES. PLEASE. YOU CAN SLEEP ON OUR COUCH. YOU DON’T LOOK WELL HUMAN.” The false worry in Papyrus’ voice sent chills down your spine.

_What do I do?_

_Well, you’re outnumbered right now. They still think they have you fooled. Play along for now and we will leave in the morning._

“Th-thank you that’s very nice of you.” you say nervously and stand, pushing their hands off your shoulders. “Sorry falling down here and everything has been really…exhausting.”

They nod in understanding and Papyrus leaves to grab you a blanket and pillow. sans stays by your side but you don’t want to meet his empty gaze.

_Do you trust me?_

_Yes, Chara, I trust you._

_Good. I’m a better fighter than you are. Let me handle Undyne. I promise I will keep us safe._

_Ok._


	6. Hide And Seek

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was inspired by this video:
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnjRs6Oz4Cc&ab_channel=superpinkygirl101
> 
> I do not own the video or the song, but strongly recommend you watch it first to fully feel what I was going for. :)

Papyrus and sans bid you farewell as you left their home that morning. Papyrus even packed a lunch for you so you wouldn’t be hungry during your trip to Undyne’s house. They each offered to escort you, but you declined both times. You didn’t want to impose any more than you already had and they had their own errands (and naps) to take care of.

Waving goodbye one final time as Snowdin fades away from view, you turn your eyes to Waterfall and grin widely.

Everyone was so stupid here.

You chucked the lunch bag in the river and whistled a happy tune. The stupid human had willingly given you control. Finally. Granted, they had intended to only give it to you to face Undyne, but like hell if you were going to give it back. You snicker to yourself as you enter the entrance to Waterfall and skip over some bridge flowers. 

You could sense them in the back of their…no…YOUR mind. Still stuck within the storm of tormented memories and twisted lies you wove. You grin to yourself. Yes, it’s much better to keep them distracted and trapped within their nightmare for now. That way they won’t notice that they’ve completely lost themselves before it’s too late.

Yes.

You flex your fingers and clench your fists. It feels so good to have a body again.

“Yo! You on your way to see Undyne?” a familiar monster child asks, snapping you out of your thoughts. They had no arms, and appeared to be some kind of yellow lizard-like creature with stripes along their belly.

You smile happily and reply, “Why yes I am! Do you know where she lives?”

“Yeah! Undyne’s my hero! She’s so cool!” They hop up and down happily and turns to lead you to her home

You sneer at their back as they chatter on about how much they adore Undyne and want to be tough like her one day. They joyfully greets a Shyren who was passing by and she tilts her head in a shallow nod.

Once she crosses your path however…

Her only greeting is a blade.

Her quiet song is cut short as Monster Kid turns to say, “-I don’t think she’d beat up the teachers though she’s way too…uh…wh-what did you do?” Their eyes open wide in terror as you remove the blade from her dissolving body.

“Hey…Monster Kid…” you say slowly, without looking at them. You can hear their footsteps slowly start to retreat. You tilt your head to the side, and stare at them with wide eyes. Malice plastered on your face you say, “Her singing made me think of something. Would you like to play a game of hide and seek with me?”

Panic and fear reflecting in their eyes as their mouth hung open in a silent scream. They backed away again, and fell onto their back. You giggled as they scrambled to their feet and fled.

“How rude, you didn’t even answer my question. I only want to play a little~” you chime as you walk after them. 

No need to waste your energy right now. Giving them the hope of escape made this so much more entertaining.

“I see you through the grass blades, our eyes are locked together~” You sing as you expose their cover and they scream and run again.

You giggle gleefully, “I can sense your horror, though I’d like to see it closer!”

“Here I come to find you! Hurry up and run! Let’s play a little game and have fun!” You shout out into the caverns. Echo flowers are playing back their crying and screams. They truly are a wonderful partner to your duet.

You allow yourself to be distracted for a moment to cut down a few more monsters, and see them running down a cavern.

You add a sad lilt to your voice, “Where is it you’ve gone?~”

You slam your hand down on the boulder they cower behind and grin widely. You bring up the blade and see the gleam reflected in their eyes. They yelps in terror and dodge it before it hits its mark. The metal clangs against the stone and you lean against it, laughing as they fall on their face again and run away. “Do you think you’ve won? Our game of hide and seek has just begun!" You giggle, watching their retreating form.

"I hear your footsteps~” You push yourself off the boulder and slowly begin to follow again, “Thumping loudly through the caverns~”

They’re not running as fast as before, and you can see their sides heaving. You slow your pace to match theirs, keeping the distance between you. “I can hear your sharp breaths~” you whisper.

They turns their head, tears running down their face, and fright shaking in their voice, “P-please s-stop!”

You just close your eyes and shake your head, “You’re not very good at hiding~”

They whimper and run into a fish shaped house. You scowl a bit at the set back, but at least now they’re cornered, "Just wait, you can't hide from me."

"I'm coming~”

“Knock knock,” you call as you strike your knuckles on the door. You hear sniveling, but no one answers.

Smirking you sing, “I am at your door now. I am coming in~” You lift up your leg and kick the door firmly. The wood creaks and snaps under your heel, allowing you to reach through the hole and unlock it. “No need for me to ask permission.” you mutter under your breath. The room is dark, but you hear some scuffling.

“I’m inside the house now. Where is it you’ve hid?” you purr as you begin to explore the room, "Our game of hide and seek's about to end!"

“I’m coming closer.” 

You hear the scratch of scales against wood and chuckle. “Looking underneath the table but you're not here~” You frown slightly, but hear scraping behind you. Ah. “I wonder, could you be inside the closet?”

The whimpering increases as your shoes clack on the tile floor. You throw the door open wide and leer in triumph. “I have found you.”

Sweat is beading on their forehead as they plead, “Pl-pl-pleeaase don’t-“

Your raise the blade, eyes wide, but smile growing wider. “You were hiding here. Now you’re it.” You growl. The gleam shines within their eyes once more.

Snot and tears spill down their face as they are reduced to sobbing as they incoherently beg for their life.

You lick your lips and sneer, “Looks like I have won. Now..” You clench the handle tight within your grasp and swing the blade down, reveling in the delicious sound of their horror as they see their life is about to end.

"You're it. Now pay the consequence.”

“What the HELL do you think you’re doing?!” A spear forms where you had just stood, and you leap backwards deeper within the kitchen, glaring at the newcomer. Undyne. Grocery bags have been dropped and their contents scattered along the floor. Her sides heave as she seethes with rage. “I’ll ask again, punk,” She spits out her words. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

You smirk and turn your attention back to your former prey. They squeak and cower deeper within the closet. “No you don’t!” Undyne shouts as you lunge towards the kid with your knife drawn. The blade sinks within her chest, and you snarl as her body begins to dissolve.

“Heh…somehow…with just one hit…” she says weakly and falls to the floor. “Kid, run away…” They hesitate for a moment as they watch their hero start to fade away, but she repeats it sharply and they flee. You turn to follow, but she holds your ankle fast. Chuckling to herself she says, “It’s funny, but even though my body feels like it’s going to scatter into a million pieces at any moment…” She tucks her other arm under herself and starts to sit up, her form hazing in and out of existence. “There’s something that WON’T let me die.” Her yellow eyes bore holes deep within your mind as she growls. “If I let you pass, you’ll destroy them all won’t you? Monsters…Humans…Hopes…Dreams…Everything.” She’s kneeling now as she sneers, “I won’t let that happen.” She stands up quickly, and throws you across the room. Your body slams into a wall and as you fall to the floor she smirks, “You’re gonna have to try a little harder than THAT.”

The heroine has appeared.


	7. My Game

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ow my heart T.T I'm sorry.

Hissing as you rise, the blade swings wildly as you dart through spears that sprout from the ground. Undyne is fast. Too fast. She has tears in her eyes as she says, “How could you attack a child?”

You silently dodge as she launches another spear toward you. It arches just above your head and embeds itself into the wall, the shaft twanging for a moment before it disappears.

She grits her teeth in anger, muscles flexing as she thrusts her arms back to materialize more spears. Raising her right hand, they rise with her and follow her command. You dip, dive, and weave through the spears, then tuck and roll as one aims for your shins.

“Papyrus said you were good! He said you were his friend!” She brought her left hand upward sharply, and you dive to the side a little too slowly. A spear nicks your leg and you tumble to the ground.

Her eye betrays her. She is afraid. She draws in a shaky breath, and her eye narrows. “What did you do to him?”

A spear appears below your chin, it narrowly misses your jugular as you tilt your head back. You smile and stand up slowly, brushing yourself off. “Nothing,” you say simply.

She cries out and more spears vault toward you. You can’t move fast enough this time, but your knife is more than capable of deflecting her missiles. A glowing blue ring surrounds you for a moment, before fading away into nothing.

You slowly walk towards her and smile sweetly. “Honestly. I haven’t done anything to him. Yet.”

“Yo! Don’t hurt Undyne!” A voice calls from behind you, distracting Undyne.

You take the opportunity to move in, but you miss your mark and only manage to graze her side.

Clutching her ribs she snaps at the kid, “I told you to get out of here!”

“B-But Undyne…”

“Go!” she shouts as spears rain from above. You duck under the table, but one manages to pierce through the wood and cut your shoulder. Dammit. This is taking too long. “You won’t defeat me human, no…WHATEVER you are!” More spears fly disintegrating the table. You throw a chair to deflect more spears that moved too quickly. It shatters in your hand from the impact, and you’re left with a sharp fragment of wood.

Glancing back, you saw that Monster Kid was still frozen in the doorway. You smirk at Undyne, and turn toward the kid.

“No!”

Monster Kid screams as you run for them, and you can hear Undyne approaching. Just as her footsteps thump behind you, and you can see the shadow of her arm reaching out, you turn on your heel and swing to impale her with your blade.

She blocks your attack predictably enough, but she doesn’t see your second attack due to her blind eye. You pierce her thigh and she screams in pain. As her body sags, you duck under her arms and grab another scrap of wood and quickly stab it into her other thigh. You giggle with glee as she screams again and falls to her knees. Monster Kid watches in horror as you bring their hero down. Undyne looks up at them as you stand behind her. “Kid, please…tell Alphys…to evacuate…”

The blade pieces through her spine and her words melt along with her remains. There is nothing left, but dust. You watch her die through the image reflection within Monster Kid’s terrified eyes.

“Well, MK, do you want to play another game with me?”

Monster Kid answers with a strangled sob and flees.

You laugh quietly and gaze down at the disgusting substance at your feet. Frowning at your blade that’s covered in sludge, you wave it back and forth to try and remove it. The goo clings to the metal, and you shrug walking over to the sink. Once your blade is clean a stolen memory flashes into your mind. You smile softly and turn the burner on the stove as high as it will go. Once flames start to appear you sheath your blade and exit the home.

The warmth of the fire crackling behind you fills you with satisfaction, and you decide to call sans.

“hey, kiddo. how did undyne’s go?”

“It was great! Except she got a little carried away…” You say cheerfully.

“lemme guess…things got a little too hot to handle?”

“Yeah. She was insistent that the best way to cook was to turn the stove up to full blast.” You sigh, “I tried to stop her, but she ended up burning down her house.”

sans chuckles on the other end. “yeah, can’t tell ya how many times papyrus has burnt down our kitchen.”

“Yeah, she says that it’s happened a few times. She has some friends that she’s going to stay with at the capital until she can get her house repaired.”

“friends to bunk with? that’s pretty handi.”

You chuckle as you walk through the blissfully silent caverns. “Yeah, um anyway I was wondering if I could ask you something?”

“sure, kid. you just did.”

Ugh. You feign a laugh easily enough. “Y-yeah, well I guess I should say, do you mind if I ask you a few more questions?”

“go for it.” sans replies easily.

“Um, well, do you think that I could ask Papyrus on another date?” Taking out the goofy one seemed to be the best route. When he found out Undyne was missing, he could prove to be an issue in the future.

Silence on the other end.

“U-unless you don’t think it’s a good idea…I know he rejected me and all…” You really doubt sans is going to interfere, but it’d be much easier if you could get Papyrus alone. The dope was probably dumb enough to go on a second date with you, even if he didn’t like you. He was just too ignorant and foolish.

“n-no that’s fine. i uh got work to do anyway and was planning on hanging out at grillby’s tonight.” His voice sounded strange.

“Cool! Well I’ll be back soon. Could you tell him to meet me at your house?”

“sure.”

sans said nothing more before hanging up.

Papyrus was eagerly awaiting your arrival at the doorstep. He bounced up the moment he saw you, ran and scooped you up in his arms in a tight hug. “HUMAN! WOWIE! I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW HAPPY I AM THAT YOU HAVE ASKED TO GO ON A SECOND DATE WITH ME.”

You wheeze as his bony arms crush your torso. “Lemme down.”

“OH! SO SORRY HUMAN!” He says and sets you down politely. As he ruffles your hair and brushes you off he sucks in a breath through his teeth. “HUMAN. WHAT HAPPENED?” His gloved fingers trace near your wound on your shoulder.

“Oh, the terrain was pretty rocky and slippery in Waterfall. I slipped and some gravel scraped me up pretty bad.”

He clicks his teeth distastefully, fingers still tracing around the wound. “COME INSIDE HUMAN, PLEASE ALLOW ME TO GET YOU PATCHED UP.”

Papyrus places a hand gently on your lower back as he guides you inside. “WE DON’T REALLY HAVE MUCH AS FAR AS BANDAGES GO BUT-“ he pulls out a few strips of cloth and some safety pins, “-AFTER YOU FELL DOWN SANS WAS SO WORRIED YOU HAD BEEN SERIOUSLY INJURED. ONE OF THE RABBITS GAVE US THESE TO BANDAGE YOU UP IN CASE YOU GOT HURT AGAIN.” He handed them to you and then ran upstairs for a moment. He came back down again with a bundle of clothing. “I JUST DID SOME LAUNDRY TOO. HERE’S A SHIRT AND SOME SHORTS YOU CAN WEAR WHILE I MEND YOUR CLOTHES. I DON’T THINK SANS WOULD MIND IF YOU BORROWED THEM.” He shifted from foot to foot nervously, and looked away from your gaze. His cheekbones started to glow that strange shade of pink again.

Hm. “Thank you Papyrus!” you say sweetly and smile. When you accept the clothing, you let your fingers brush along his hands, and the pink spreads further across his skull. Alright, so monsters do blush. Interesting. This’ll be much easier that expected.

Papyrus was already prepared with a needle and thread after you had changed and cared for your wounds. “NYEH HEH HEH! DO NOT WORRY HUMAN! SANS IS ALWAYS SNAGGING HIS JACKET ON BRANCHES AND IS FAR TOO LAZY TO BE CAREFUL. I’VE HAD TO MEND HIS CLOTHES FOR YEARS, AND HAVE BECOME QUITE SKILLED!”

You settled in to watch a movie as he worked. After some time your phone buzzed with a text from sans:

*would you mind reading him his bedtime story? he can’t sleep without it, but i’ll be out late tonight.

**I’d be happy to!

*thx.

“THERE! ALL DONE!” Papyrus exclaimed proudly as he presented his work to you.

“Wow! That looks amazing! You can’t even tell where it was torn!”

“NYEH HEH HEH WELL NATURALLY IT’S AMAZING. I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS AFTER ALL!” He boasts and strikes his fist to his sternum.

“You’re pretty amazing.”

“ACK!” he exclaims and the pink glow returns to his cheekbones once more.

You giggle and say, “It’s getting pretty late. Aren’t you tired?”

“A LITTLE, BUT SANS HASN’T RETURNED YET. I CAN’T GO TO BED UNTIL HE DOES.”

“Oh, why not?”

“I UH WELL…” Papyrus looks down at the ground and rubs the back of his skull sheepishly. “HE ALWAYS READS ME A BED TIME STORY.”

“I could read one to you.”

“N-NO I COULDN’T ASK YOU TO DO THAT HUMAN!” The blush increases and spreads across his face.

You reach forward and grasp his hand lightly. “Don’t be silly. I’d be happy to.” You smile brightly and try to not laugh as his whole skull turns pink. He’s clearly getting flustered. This was too easy.

“W-WELL IF YOU INSIST HUMAN. I WILL ALLOW IT.”

Papyrus fell asleep quickly as you read and you curl a lip as you realize he even makes the stupid ‘nyeh heh heh’ sounds in his sleep. Retrieving your blade, you lift it high, and aim for his skull.

_‘No!’_

Your arm is locked above your head as your body is frozen between dual commands. 

_‘What are you doing?! He needs to die!’_

_‘No this is wrong!’_

The muscles strain and flex as the urge to swing down and stay still battle within. You growl in frustration. So, they choose now of all times to snap out of their nightmare?

_‘How can you continue to be so weak and foolish? He’s a monster! He doesn’t deserve mercy.’_

_‘But he’s been so kind. I can’t…can’t hurt him.’_

Your arm quivers as the muscles begin to cramp from the effort.

_‘He’s lying to you. He will betray you. He tried to deliver us to Undyne today. I was able to get rid of her, but that won’t stop all of them. They will steal your soul.’_

_‘But…I…we can be friends…can’t we?’_

You want to scream in frustration at their stupidity, but you manage to hold back your emotions. _‘Listen to me. I’m you're friend aren’t I?’ your voice laced with sweet, comforting tones._

_‘Y-yes…’ the response is hesitant, but they’re still faithful._

_‘You don’t want to be alone, do you?’_

_A wave of sadness washes through your mind as the idiot responds, ‘No.’_

_‘You trust me don’t you?’_

_Now you can feel a shiver of their fear crawl up their back. ‘Yes.’_

Papyrus rolls away from you onto his side, snoring softly.

_‘Please believe me. I only want what is best. If you follow down this path and continue to trust them, you’ll only end up hurt and alone. Then your soul will be theirs for the taking.’_

_‘But…’_

_‘I know you want it to be different, but the reality is this: it’s kill or be killed.’_

_‘I…’_

The blankets rustle as Papyrus shifts again to get more comfortable. He hums happily and resumes snoring.

_‘I want you to get home to the surface, but to do that we must become stronger.’_

Your upraised arm shakes again, and the fool’s tears spill from your eyes.

_‘I don’t want to…but…I don’t want to die…’_

You feel the opposing force melt away and your arm falls into your control again. You smile in victory and shake the stiff feeling from your limb.

_‘I don’t want to be alone…’_

You ignore the fool as you raise the blade once more.

_‘I’m so sorry…’_

The blade slices down, piercing through his temple, and he lets out a short shriek of pain. It’s easily silences as you twist the knife, shattering his skull.

_‘I’m so sorry…’_

The fool’s tears are blurring your vision, but you hardly notice through the high of another kill.

_‘Alright, my dear friend.’_

The idiot just whimpers in the back of your mind, futilely apologizing to the dust on the mattress.

_‘The real fun begins!’_

The fool screams as you lock them away within the depths of your mind. They fight and try to regain control, but you easily overpower them, stripping them of everything save for their ability to see through YOUR eyes.

_‘Now you get to watch how things should be done. It’s MY game now.’_

You wipe the idiot’s tears from your face as you take Papyrus’ scarf. His dust stains the beautiful fabric, but some of it has been left untouched. Using your knife, you rip the scarf and take your souvenir. Wrapping the scrap of fabric around your arm, you hum in approval. This will make a much more comfortable holster than those vines. 

Now. It’s time to finish Snowdin.

Only 8 remain.


	8. Memories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ow my heart. I had to stop. I can't...I can't let sans find out yet. T.T
> 
>  
> 
> Also, thank you my lovely friend Treeni for adding a few more jokes and puns. You're awesome! :)

You stare down at your phone shaking in your hand. So, the kid had made their choice. You clench the device tighter, shove it in your pocket, and lean against a tree. Gazing up at the eternal blackness above you, you let out a small, lonely sigh.

You had hoped that you’d have more time. At least enough to make it feel like you had a chance. You chuckle quietly and sink down into the snow. Of course the kid would pick Papyrus again. He was the coolest guy in all of Snowdin. Heck, probably the coolest guy in all of the underground.

Still.

You’d be lying if you said it didn’t hurt.

Clawing at the fabric covering your sternum, you gaze down at your slippered feet and groan. Why was the kid able to forget? Why did you have to remember? Things would be so much easier if you could forget too. You grip your jacket tighter and curl your body inward, resting your skull on your kneecaps. You were too weak to forget. Even if it hurt. You never wanted to forget.

But maybe…

Maybe sleep would help the pain go away. Sleep was always the answer when faced with things you wanted to ignore. Chores. Work. Effort. Resets. Self Loathing. Love… You shiver as you stand up and trudge back to your sentry station. Yeah, a nap sounds like a good idea right now. You enter the station and crawl under the counter, retrieving a small hidden pillow.

Resting your head on the pillow, you breathe out a lazy sigh and let the tears fall without a sound.

Just let the pain fade…

Let me rest…

Leave me to my memories…  
_  
“SANS! SAAAANS!” Papyrus screams as he runs up to your station. You sit up quickly, a little too quickly, and shake the dazed feeling from your skull._

_“sup, bro?” you yawn and rest your chin in your hand._

_“I FOUND A HUMAN SANS! DID YOU SEE THEM?”_

_“oh yeah i think i did.”_

_Papyrus’ eyes narrow as he looks at you suspiciously and snorts. “HOW COULD YOU HAVE SEEN THEM IF YOU WERE SLEEPING?!”_

_“heh you’re right bro, that was a fibula. sorry,” you say and yawn again. How long have you been awake? Almost feels like it’s time for another nap. You lay your head down on the counter of your station, much to Papyrus’ displeasure._

_“HONESTLY I CAN NOT BELIEVE YOU SANS! YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO PATROL AND KEEP WATCH FOR HUMANS AND YOU LET ONE WALK RIGHT BY YOU!”_

_“well if they didn’t walk by me, it might have hurt.”_

_Papyrus opened his mouth to speak, but his tirade was temporarily forgotten. “UM, WHAT?” he said flatly._

_“well, ya know, it’d probably hurt if they walked into me.” you explain with a grin._

_Papyrus pinched the bone between his eyes and sighed. “REALLY, SANS?”_

_You just chuckle and say, “sorry, bro.” You glance around the area, scanning the trees and snow, but you don’t see anything out of the ordinary. He would get so excitable now and then, thinking he saw a human when it was just a shadow or a small monster running through the trees. You glance behind you, and you hear a soft, muffled giggle. Turning to Papyrus again, you tilt your head to the side and ask, “where’s the human?”_

_“RIGHT HERE!” He exclaims and steps to the side, widely gesturing to the creature that stood behind him._

_Now you're awake. You jump up quickly, the chair behind you falling back, and a jolt of surprise shocking your rib cage. A human. An actual human._

_“how…” you’re frozen where you stand as your mind tries to process what’s happening._

_The human smiles shyly and walks up to you, offering their hand. You had almost forgotten about the whoopee cushion until the sound echoes between you two._

_The human’s eyes widen in surprise and Papyrus throws his arms up in the air. “ARE YOU SERIOUS SANS?! IS THIS REALLY HOW YOU WANT TO MAKE A FIRST IMPRESSION?”_

_“well, it was more of a compression…” you say, feeling embarrassed until you hear the human giggle._

_“That was pretty good. Can’t say I expected that.”_

_Your grin widens as you tuck the whoopee cushion in your pocket, and you say, “yeah the ol’ whoopee cushion is always funny.”_

_The human nodded happily. “I’m imp-rest.”_

_Papyrus grumbled as you chuckled. “to talus the truth, i’ve never met a human before, but you’re pretty cool.”_

_“That’s very ice of you to say.” The human winks._

_“OH MY GOD! SANS THE HUMAN IS ALMOST AS BAD AS YOU.”_

_“well, tibia honest, i’m pretty tough to beat.”_

_“OH? WHAT MAKES YOU SAY THAT?”_

_“Because he’s bad to the bone!” the human exclaims excitedly._

_“nice!” you say and slap them a high five while Papyrus screams in frustration._  
  
You groan and roll over to the other side. The kid had fallen in the river and died shortly after that. You hadn’t been fast enough to save them, and the cold took their life away shortly after. You had mourned the loss of your friend for days until…Papyrus had awoken you just like before, and the human was standing behind him. Then, you realized, the days you had known just disappeared and everything had reset. It was almost like it never happened.

You pull your hood up over your eye sockets, and breathe slowly, holding tight to your ribcage. After many cycles, you had tried your best to keep them safe. You even dropped hints on where to go and how to befriend monsters that crossed their paths. Eventually, they took notice of what you were doing.  
__  
“Hey, sans?” the kid asks as they bring over two mugs of hot cocoa and settles onto the couch beside you.

_You accept one of the mugs and hummed a response as you take a sip._

_“Do you…um…have we…met before?” The human asks shyly as they watch the marshmallows bob up and down._

_You stop and laugh nervously, asking, “wh-what would make you think that?”_

_Their hands tighten around the mug as they say, “I don’t know. This just seems…familiar…like I remember you, and Papyrus, and I feel like I may have met some of your friends already too…”_

_“heh, well papyrus does talk about undyne a lot-“_

_The human shakes their head. “No, it’s different than just thinking I know someone from stories. I feel like I really have met Undyne. I think we…I think we cooked together?” Their wide eyes gaze into your eye sockets. “Does that sound right?”_

_“i uh, well, to patella the truth i don’t know.” You hold your mug in your lap and ask, “why are you talking to me about this?”_

_The human shrugs and takes a sip. “I don’t know. I just got here, but it feels like you’re always there. Guiding me, helping me.” They turn to you again and smile, “You’re a really good friend, sans.”_  
  
The human died to an unexpected rock slide in the outskirts of Hotland in that timeline. You shiver, despite not feeling the cold, and wrap your arms tighter around yourself.  
__  
In Grillby’s the human laughs as you crack jokes left and right. They clutch their sides and gasp for air, wiping a tear from their eye.

_“Ok stop! Seriously! My stomach hurts!”_

_“aw, do you have a temmie ache?”_

_“Quit it!” The human giggles and gives you a playful shove._

_“aww guess we’ll have to make sure you’re un-dyin.”_

_The human squints at you, crosses their arms, and sticks out their tongue._

_“alright, alright.” You chuckle as you wave Grillby over to take away your plates. “just put it on my tab.” you say with a wink, and he nods stoically._

_“c’mon kid, let’s head back.”_

_“Ok!” the human says happily as they follow you back to your house. They have been staying in Snowdin for the last few days. You had convinced them to take some time to rest and prepare for the long journey ahead. Maybe if they were prepared this time, they’d be able to make it to the end and stop the resets._

_You turn on a movie once you return home and flop onto the couch. The human settles on the middle cushion, and you slowly start to drift into sleep. You’re jostled awake shortly, however, as something bumps into your arm._

_“uh, kid?” you ask as you poke them in the forehead._

_“Mm.” they grunt, eyes still closed as they nuzzle further into the fur on your jacket._

_You chuckle nervously and whisper, “i’d say i’m skin and bones, but i don’t even have that much going for me. you can’t be comfortable.” The human doesn’t move and you sigh, “here, lemme grab you a pillow-“ you shift to stand up._

_“No!” the kid says abruptly and wraps their arms around your ribcage. “This is good.” they mumble into your jacket._

_“oh, uh…sure.” Your cheekbones start to tingle and your ribcage is thrumming unevenly. What is this feeling? You laugh uneasily and turn back to the movie. The kid’s soft snores distract you from the TV, and you find yourself tracing the tips of your phalanges through their hair and down their back. They sigh and hug you tighter._  
  
You sit up quickly and let out an exasperated sigh. So much for sleeping the day away. You pull out your phone again and text the human. You don’t really want to be there while they’re on their date, but you don’t want Papyrus to miss his bedtime story either. You smile at your phone when the kid responds. Papyrus deserves someone kind and understanding.

You stand up and groan as your joints creak. Well, may as well head out to Grillby’s for a bit. You smile sadly as the memory is still fresh in your mind. With a small shake of your head, you narrow your eyes to search for the glitch of space that you need. Ah. There it is.

You inhale deeply and feel the station fade away into the shadows. When you exhale, you find yourself at the door of Grillby’s. You smile as the bell jingles announcing your arrival and wave to everyone. The swirly-eyed bunny excitedly greets you, and you fist bump Doggo as you walk further into the diner. You settle in your usual seat and wave Grillby over, ordering a burg with extra ketchup. Once the food arrives you’re laughing and joking with the monsters at the bar. There aren’t as many customers here in the diner today, but it’s alright. You take a bite of your burg and wash it down with some ketchup, and sigh as you set the bottle down. Grillby turns to look at you, his flames flickering in concern.

“hey, do you mind if i hang around for a bit?” you ask sadly, “don’t wanna be a third wheel.”


	9. Naive

After a while the burg just doesn’t seem to fill the emptiness you feel inside. You set it down and swirl the ketchup, rolling the bottle back and forth between your hands. Grillby returns and his flame flickers in an unasked question, but you just grunt in response. He gestures to the remains of your meal, left alone and forgotten on your plate. You chuckle to yourself as you realize you sympathize a bit too much with your meal.

“s’nothin’ grillbz just feeling a little a-bun-doned.” you say with a weak laugh.

His flames flicker again.

“i dunno. i don’t really wanna talk about it.” You glance back down at the ketchup bottle in your hands, clinking your phalanges against the glass.

He takes your plate and retreats to the back for a moment. When he returns he adjusts his glasses and his flames sputter as if to give you a pointed look.

“heh yeah i guess i wouldn’t be here if there wasn’t something i didn’t want to a-dress.” you say, taking a swig of ketchup and setting the bottle down with a loud ‘thunk’.

Grillby leans forward and furiously scrubs at some ketchup that had spilled onto his tidy countertop, and drums his fingers, waiting patiently.

“alright, don’t give me that salt-y look.” His flames swirl as if someone had tried to blow out a candle which, over timelines, you had learned was his equivalent of an eye roll. “i uh, i’m in a bit of a pickle…”

Grillby shakes his head and picks up a dirty mug, scrubbing it methodically as he waited for you to explain.

“i…i’m…well…” You feel your cheekbones tingle as you try to find the words, “i…i care for someone…a lot…and we used to have something…or i thought we had…” you sigh sadly and rest your chin in your hand, “that part isn't as important. no, this person that i lo-uh care about…has started to care about my brother.” You wince a little as you start to say it out loud.

Grillby just sets down the now clean mug and begins to scrub another, nodding for you to continue.

“and they’re really nice. and i know my brother cares about them too. he’s really happy with them and…well…i know i should be happy too…”

“But instead you feel sadness.” Grillby says simply and you meet his gaze with surprise.

“y-yeah…”

He nods and sets down his glass, leaning forward, and resting both his elbows on the counter. “This person that you care for. Do they still care for you?”

“i think so, but not like before.”

He nods and adjusts his glasses. “Now they care for your brother how they once cared for you?”

“yes.”

He sighs and leans back, retrieving another glass and begins to scrub it clean. You wait impatiently as he pensively turns the mug over and over in his hands, wiping it with the dish towel.

Finally, he sets the glass down and looks into your eye sockets. “You said that you thought you had something before. Have you told them how you feel?”

“no.” Not in this timeline at least.

He strokes his chin for a moment and asks, “Well. What do you value more? Your feelings for this person, or the relationship with your brother?”

“what do you mean?”

He just shrugs and begins to wipe down the counter again. “It’s simple really. You could tell this person how you feel, and see if they reciprocate and potentially hurt your brother. Or-“ he furiously scrubs at a small stain on the countertop until there’s no trace, “-you could let go of your feelings and be happy for you brother and this person’s…ah…’caring relationship.’”

You groan and tap the tips of your phalanges against your teeth thoughtfully. You know he’s right. “why mustard this be so painful?” you mumble, mostly to yourself but he still hears you.

“Love is rarely painless.” His flames flicker in a comfortable understanding as he picks up his cleaned mugs and turns to put them away.

You watch him leave and try to quell the embarrassed glow beneath your cheekbones. You pull out your phone and scroll through the texts you had saved:  
_  
*OMG sans! I just had the craziest dream! X’D I have to tell you about it when you get back._

_*sans! I just made Papyrus so mad. He asked me if I wanted some nice cream and I said, ‘You sherbet I do!’_

_*sans…I’ve decided…I want us to have a better life. I want to free everyone._

_*I want…I want us to be happy. I want to make our dreams come true._

*I’m going. I’m going to continue my journey and take everyone to the surface. 

_*I promise, I’ll take you there with me._

_*I won’t leave you behind._

_*I love you, sans._  
  
You feel a tear trickle down your cheekbone as you delete the messages. It was just another strange anomaly. Somehow they had lingered throughout the timelines, despite all the resets. You quickly brush the tear away, glancing up and seeing that Grillby had noticed. He turns his back quickly and says nothing more, respecting your privacy and grief. He’s right. There’s no reason to hold onto these anymore. The human had made their choice, and you would never hurt Papyrus.

Once the deed is done, you shove the device back in your pocket and wave goodbye to Grillby, knowing that he’d add the meal to your tab. You let out a tired sigh as you walk to the exit of the diner. It’d gotten pretty late, and as you opened the door you teleported straight to your room and collapsed face first on your bed.

You exhale deeply from exhaustion as your skull sinks into the pillow. Papyrus is quiet on the other side of the wall and you smile softly. The kid must’ve read him a story after all. That was good. You roll over onto your side and kick off your slippers. It’d take some time, but you believed you could be happy with this. You really did enjoy seeing Papyrus and the human so happy together.

If only it was you…

No.

You clutch at your sternum as the unwelcome thought swirls within your mind. You would let these feelings go. For your brother. For the human. For you. They only caused pain. You let your vision fade and focus on regulating the thrumming within your chest. With each slow breath the pain started to fade away.

As your body begins to relax, you smile. Papyrus will probably be up soon to tell you about the date and demand that you help recalibrate the puzzles. You would be happy for him. You would celebrate with him. You would find some way to avoid doing any work. Tomorrow was going to be a good day.

And with that final thought, you drifted off to sleep.


	10. Gone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowie we have made it to 100 kudos!! That's amazing!! Thank you so much <3 it truly does keep me going guys!! I really appreciate it :) it makes me feel so good and boosts my confidence seeing that or when someone comments XD. You guys are the best! Thanks for sticking with me even when I break your heart ;p

You quickly jerk awake, startled and confused. Rubbing your skull tiredly, you reach for your phone to check the time. It’s 10:00 a.m.

Papyrus is late waking you up. Way late. He usually wakes you up around 5:00 a.m. and complains until 6:00 a.m. and then excitedly plans out the day when you finally get out of bed at 12:00 p.m.

Something isn’t right.

Maybe he was just in a particularly good mood after his date. That’s probably it.

You roll out of bed and exit your room, thumping down the stairs and peeking in the kitchen. He’s not there either. You scratch your skull and text Undyne to see if he’s with her today. A few minutes pass. No response. Undyne was usually good about responding right away. Weird. Although, with an afterthought, you remember the kid had told you that she was in central while her house was being repaired. You shrug and return to your room to get changed into a different pair of shorts and slip on your slippers.

Sometimes when you were out until the early hours, like last night, Papyrus would let you sleep in. Not that he had much choice, when you were really dead tired it was almost impossible to rouse you. Usually when that would happen, he would leave you at the house and pace around your station, waiting for you to show up. Once you did he would lecture you about how punctuality was of the utmost importance. You can’t patrol for humans if you’re sleeping.

You stretch your spine and feel your rib cage heave with a yawn before lazily allowing your arms to flop to your sides with a ‘floop’ as your jacketed arms knocked against your sides. Alright, probably shouldn’t keep him waiting any longer. You squint your eyes and find the glitch in space to bring you to the station.

He’s not here.

You scrunch your brow bones in confusion as you look around. He’s not here. Gazing at the snow you notice that there are no fresh prints either. That’s odd…maybe he went to recalibrate his puzzles?

You walk through the valley of Snowdin, checking every puzzle in your path. They’re still solved from when the kid passed through here. He hadn’t had time to fix them after the kid had passed out. He was too worried and wanted to make sure the human was alive and well before he could even consider going back to work.

An uneasy feeling trickles up your spine.

Could Papyrus’ have left you to go help the kid on their journey? Just like before? No…he wouldn’t do that without telling you first…right?

You walk back into Snowdin. It’s quiet. No one is outside. Now you’re really starting to worry. You open up the door to the inn and glance inside, but it’s empty. As you walk toward the library you notice there are tracks scattered in the snow. The library is vacant. You jog to Grillby’s and pull the door open, rib cage beginning to thrum unevenly. “hello?” you call into the unoccupied diner.

But nobody came.

Panic begins to rise within your nonexistent throat as you sprint home. You thrust open the front door and run up the stairs, taking two at a time. You pound your fist on Papyrus’ bedroom door and shout, “papyrus! papyrus are you there?” Silence is your response. The door slowly creaks open and you cautiously enter.

What was going on?!

“papyrus?” you whisper, panic rising in your voice. The floorboards groan under your feet as you enter his room. He isn’t here. Something’s wrong. Something is very, very wrong.

A flash of orange catches your eye.

His scarf.

He never leaves his scarf.

With shaky steps and a strangled breath you approach the bed. 

“p-papyrus?” you croak as you reach out an unsteady hand toward the cloth.

No.

There’s dust.

There’s dust everywhere.

It’s spilled over the sheets and down to the floor.

No.

Please. 

Oh, god.

This can’t be.

Tears spill from your sockets as you pick up his scarf, wincing as dust flutters downward from the disturbance to join its comrades on the bed.

You clutch the scarf in your hand and press it to your face.

It’s his dust.

Why?

“papyrus!” you cry out and sink to your knees in front of the bed. Agony rips through your body as the weight of loss hits your bones. A strangled groan escapes your jaws as you cling to the scarf, holding it tight to your sternum, and you rest your forehead on the edge of the bed. “papyrus, why?” You whimper to the dust, knowing that he can no longer respond.

“brother.”

“what happened?”

“where did you go?”

You press the scarf to your cheekbone as you start to stand again. You reach out to the dust, but hesitate, not wanting to disturb him. Not until you find somewhere to sprinkle his remains. You choke back a sob and wonder what horror caused this to happen. He hadn’t seemed sick, and he had never fallen down like other monsters before they passed. How did this happen?

How?

Glancing at his pillow, you notice a small hole has pierced through the fabric, as if it had been stabbed or sliced.

He was killed.

No, he was murdered.

Anger, loss, and betrayal vibrate through your bones as you exit his room and you storm outside. You check the tracks around Snowdin, and find more dust mixed within the snow. You also find a chilling and familiar sight. Your mind doesn’t want to accept it, but you can see it clearly before your eye sockets. Footprints. Footprints from the human’s boots. The human had been with Papyrus last night. They had read him a bedtime story. They had stayed with him until he had fallen asleep. Dark thoughts swirl within your mind and you claw at your skull, “no, no, no. kid, please, tell me you didn’t.” You stare at the dust ladened snow as your mind forces you to accept what your soul wants to deny. They murdered him. You wrap Papyrus’ scarf around your neck, tucking your mandible in the fabric, and glare toward Waterfall.

You growl as you start to leave Snowdin. “you got a hell of lot to answer for, kid.”


	11. Agony

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowie! I'm so sorry it's been a few days, but thank you so much for the love and support!  
>  <3
> 
> Also, question for you guys...
> 
> Is it wrong that I love seeing people freak out and comment about hurt feels? Don't get me wrong I feel it too as I write, and I feel bad...but I also feel really proud since I'm trying to get you guys to hurt a little. XD

The Ruins: Annihilated.

Snowdin: Eliminated. (Minus a certain short, lazy pile of bones. He wasn’t really worth the effort to track down, as the likelihood of him doing anything to stop you was minimal. You were confident you could take care of him just as easily as his brother).

Waterfall: Obliterated.

You hum in approval at the progress you have made so far as you cut off the wings of a tsunderplane that flew too close. Most of the small monsters weren’t much of a challenge, but you loved how it made you feel stronger and more exhilarated with each kill.

You grin as you see a laboratory in the distance and jog forward. Once you reach the doors, you pound them with your fists and shout, “Alphys! Alphys! Where are you?”

No answer. You see a camera hanging just above the door, angled downward so the lens is directed toward you. You smirk at the camera. “So, you saw what I did to your girlfriend?”

You giggle to yourself. “Oops! I forgot. She wasn’t actually your girlfriend. You were always such a coward, Alphys.”

You pound your fist on the door again, “I know you’re in there, Alphys!”

Still no answer.

You growl, “This is why you’re always alone, you know.” You shrug, “You just hide away from everyone and everything.” You glance back at the camera and smirk, “If only you had told her what you really felt, but you didn’t.”

You chuckle again, “And now she’s dead. She will never know how you felt. And you’re still alone. Only-“ you tilt your head to the side and widen your eyes, “it hurts more, doesn’t it? Knowing that she died without truly knowing how you felt? Don’t you wish you could’ve stopped her? Maybe had the courage to say you loved her right before the end?”

You sneer at the camera, “Love is for the foolish, Alphys. It makes you weak. Although, for you, everything about you is weak.”

You turn away from the camera and begin to kick at the door. “You weak lizard!” 

“Spineless snake!”

You kick the door firmly and smile in satisfaction as the metal starts to dent in the middle. You hear a startled squeak through the small opening. You grin widely at the camera again, “I’m coming for you, worm.”

“Hey, 01, is that the uh human?” A voice from behind says.

“Yeah I think it is, 02,” Another responds.

You slowly lean away from the door and turn to see the newcomers. They seem to be Royal Guards, and wear large black suits of armor, wielding sabers. You smirk and say, “My, what lovely swords you have! I feel a little unprepared here.” You sheepishly hold up your knife.

“You killed Undyne!” RG 01 exclaims.

“We will not allow you to progress any further!” RG 02 shouts.

You smile softly and clench the handle of your weapon tight in your hand and sneer, “Bring it on!”

* * *

Oh, god.

Dust.

Why is there so much dust?

Each step you take brings you further into the depths of your worst nightmare. The once beautiful Wishing Room is stained with the remains of monsters. Dust covers the floor, and some even clings to the walls. You gently step around their remains as best you can, and offer condolences as you pass by.

There’s so much.

You finally see a clear patch of dirt and collapse upon it. Even though you have no inner organs, or a stomach to empty, your body still heaves and groans. You feel a burning sickness in your phantom throat as horror and sorrow rattles through your bones. Your phalanges claw at the dirt beneath you, and tears flow freely from your eye sockets.

“oh, god.”

“why?”

Another wave of agony hits you and your rib cage heaves painfully. You open your jaws and scream, hoping to release some of the pain. It offers no relief, and you collapse resting your forehead on the ground, phalanges at the back of your skull.

“papyrus,” your lone voice echoes throughout the cave.

“dogamy, snowdrake, shyren…” You start to lift your head, and allow your phalanges to drag across the back of your skull to your face. The scraping of bone somewhat helps snap you out of your nightmare. At least enough to weakly stand once more and continue forward.

“undyne…i have to find…undyne,” you whisper numbly as you continue on.

Her house isn’t far from where you are, but an unpleasant thought enters your mind. The kid had said she went to Central… You dial Undyne’s number again, but it goes straight to voicemail. You really don’t like this. Worry vibrates through your bones as you pick up the pace. You call Alphys, but she doesn’t answer either. That still concerns you, but she never really answers anyway.

You fall to your knees once you’ve reached Undyne’s house. “no.” The kid hadn’t lied. The house had burned down.

But.

Within the blackened remains of her home, you could see a small pile of white. Undisturbed and untouched by the flames. It wasn’t ash…

It was…

“no.” you whisper again and hug your knees to your sternum. This can’t be happening. What was going on? Why was the kid doing this?

Why couldn’t Undyne stop them?

Fear dances along your ribs as you draw in a shaky breath. The kid. The kid is getting stronger with each murder. You glance at the dust that swirls around you and shudder. You have to stop them.

Before it’s too late.

Before you’re not strong enough to.

You rise once more and silently mourn your friend as you continue further, apologizing to her for not having the time to properly lay her to rest. You promise to return soon to bring her peace. You walk along the water’s edge, taking comfort in the glow that illuminates your way. That small comfort however, is also short lived as you take a closer look at the water. The familiar silvery white shimmer swirls within the water and you feel your rib cage heave once more.

You wince as you realize you can’t leave them like that.

You use your bone attack to stop the flow and strain the dust from the stream, scooping it up in your quivering hands. Once the dust makes contact with your bones, you cry out in pain.

“Temmie…hurtie…” a voice whispers in your mind.

“Wasn’t….strong…enough…” a deeper voice brays.

“Can’t…sing…now…” a mournful voice hums.

Tears begin to flow again as you clutch the handful of dust to your sternum, “everyone…i’m so sorry…i’ll stop them…i’ll fix this…”


	12. Foolishness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry it's been a few days since I've updated! Holidays got pretty crazy and busy, but I should have time to start writing again. :) Thank you for your patience, and I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!
> 
> I've also written a fluffy little present for everyone if you haven't seen it yet:
> 
> http://archiveofourown.org/works/5532161
> 
> And I am now on Tumblr too!
> 
> http://skelegirl-fanfic.tumblr.com

“01, block the doorway to the lab, and I’ll take care of this.” The guard referred to as RG 02 ordered as he gestured to you with his sword.

“Got it!” RG 01 said as he jogged his way around you. You hissed and made a lunge for him with your knife, but RG 02 blocked your attack.

“Sorry, but your battle is with me.” he said flatly.

“Fine.” you snarl and arc your blade again. He doesn’t do anything to deflect it, and laughs as it clangs dully against his chest plate.

“You were right you know,” He knocks a armored fist against his chest plate and his laughter echoes within his helmet. “You won’t be able to do much with that tiny weapon.”

Your eyes narrow as you scan over your opponent. He’s the first monster you’ve encountered that was suited for battle. You had been fortunate enough to catch Undyne off guard, but at least he didn’t seem to be as cunning or skilled in combat as she had been. Although, maybe he was a lot more similar to her than you had first thought. An idea forms in your mind, and you sheath your blade in your sleeve. You then pull your sleeves up over your fists and hold them high to protect your chest and face.

RG 02 tilts his head to the side, curious, but ready. He’s done talking now as he charges forward and swings his saber in a downward arc. You duck underneath it and aim a right hook at his abdomen. You don’t want it to connect directly, and allow your fist to brush against the side of his armor. He huffs in frustration and turns again to strike. You jump backwards and just as your feet touch the dried, cracked ground, you leap forward and allow a punch from your left hand to slide harmlessly across his chest and side. He laughs at your efforts as you have done little to hurt him, but he does not yet realize what your true goal is.

Cooling dirt coats your sleeves as you trade blow after blow with your target. His breathing is becoming heavier, and his attacks are becoming easier to dodge. His movements are slowing and you can see sweat dripping from his helmet and down his chest plate.

“It’s so hot…” he complains as he lazily swings his sword again. Now, you only need to sidestep to avoid the attack.

You smile slightly to yourself and shake your hands free of your sleeves. That’s enough, you think. He’s panting now and leaning forward with his free hand braced on his knee. You retrieve your knife and say, “You know, that’s a pretty cool saber you got there-“ you sprint forward and he gasps as he tries to stand straight, “do you mind if I-“ you slam your shoulder into his chest at full speed causing him to stumble backwards. The metal causes your arm to ache painfully, but you hardly notice. His arms flail as he tries to catch his balance and you see a spot of weakness. “-have a closer look?” You smirk as you drive your knife into the chink of armor around the inside of his elbow. He howls in pain and drops his sword. You leave your knife embedded in his arm and catch his weapon just as the tip clangs to the ground. In one smooth motion you pivot and drive the blade through the eye slit of his helmet. His sweet howls of pain are unfortunately cut short as his body crumples into dust. 

You smirk at RG 01 through the hollow armor as it falls to the ground. It rings forlornly as the metal strikes the rock beneath your feet. Retrieving your knife and now armed with a stolen saber, you stride over to him, kicking the remains out of your way as you do so. Your grin widens as RG 01’s armor shakes with rage with each kick of his fallen comrade’s uniform. 

“Y-You…” RG 01 sputters as you reach him. You just smile and lean RG 02’s saber against your shoulder.

“What? You mad?” you sneer at him and he screams.

“How could you!?” he draws his own saber and moves forward to stab you. You easily parry the blow and laugh at his distraught state.

“Oh come on! He was nothing but a coworker. He died in the line of duty.” You lean left and right as he wildly swings his blade. You can see tears leaking from the eye slits of his helmet, and that just makes you laugh even more. He yells, holding his sword with both hands, and brings it down onto you in an overhead arc. You’re not able to dodge in time, but you manage to bring up his comrade’s blade up to block the attack.

“I…I loved him…” he sobs, shoulders shaking and chest heaving as he tries to bring his sword downward to slice through your block.

“Love?” you ask as your own arms shake with effort. His rage induced attacks are a lot stronger than expected.

“Yes! I loved him!” he exclaims as he pulls back and readies his weapon for a jab aimed at your chest. Without the weight pressing down from above, you take this opportunity to kick him square in the chest. The idiot is far too emotional to stay focused on the battle at hand. He stumbles and falls flat on his back.

“Love is for the weak and foolish.” You snarl as you stop down on the wrist of the arm that holds his weapon. He cries out in pain, but you’re not done. You grind your heel into his wrist, relishing as you can feel it breaking against the rock. “See? If you didn’t love him, you could’ve been able to think more clearly.” You pin his chest down with your other foot, and hold RG 02’s sword in front of his face. “But instead, you chose foolishness, and now you get to die. Killed by your lover’s weapon.” You sneer widely as he cries out, the screech of metal against metal adding a sweet melody to his dying screams as the blade pierces through his eyes.

You kick the empty helmet across the terrain and it clangs against its partner’s helmet. You sigh softly and say, “There you go. Together at last.” You sheathe your knife once more, and pick up the second saber as well. Turning to the lab again, you hear a small squeal of fear. With both sabers in hand you stride confidently toward the building to finish what you had started before you were so rudely interrupted.

You wedge one of the sabers into the gap between the doors and try to pry it open. The door resists and your muscles strain from the effort. Just as the door wedges open, the saber snaps in half and falls uselessly to the floor. Oh well, you still have one. You force your shoulder into the opening, and use your back and arm to push the doors open wider. Once there is enough room for you to enter, you squeeze through the doorway and glance around.

“Alphys!” you shout into the darkness. You can hear fearful scuttling of claws against tile, but you can’t see her.

You growl as you advance into the darkened lab, the only light coming from the broken doorway. You lean down to check underneath the table, as that seemed like a logical place for the spineless lizard to hide.

“My, what an ugly creature.” a mechanical voice says from behind.

You stand up slowly and glare toward the voice. “And who are you?”

“Ah, that’s a tough question for me to answer.” The voice chuckles as it approaches. “I’m called many things. A star. A chef. An actor. A role model. An idol.” The robotic rectangle rolls into the streak of light and you can see its face is made of flickering lights. One of its hands is on its side, probably mimicking someone resting a hand on their hip, and the other is wagging a finger at you. “But, my darling, I suppose if you want to call me something-” It shakes disdainfully and the lights of its face flash into a skull and crossbones, “You can refer to me as your Executioner!”

“M-m-mettaton!” a voice stutters from within the shadows to your left. Alphys. The lights flicker on and you can see the sniveling yellow lizard shaking where she stood.

“Don’t you worry, my dear Alphys. I will stop this disgusting creature.” Mettaton says as he waves her away. You take this moment of his distraction to make your way toward Alphys.

Kill them.

I have to kill them.

Kill them all.

A cold metallic fist connects with your cheek and sends you flying across the room. You spit out blood and wipe your mouth. Mettaton makes a tutting noise and wags his finger again with a haughty expression. “Sorry, darling, but you’re fighting me now. I won’t let you hurt Alphys.”

You sneer at him. He’s a lot faster than you expected, but he’s still just a bucket of bolts. “Then I’ll just get rid of you first!” You snarl, leaping up from the ground, and sprinting forward.

“kid!” Yet another interruption distracts you and the saber halts before connecting with Mettaton’s lit up face. He uppercuts you square in the chest and sends you flying back again, mechanical chuckles sending you further into the depths of your rage.

You glare at the interruption and see that stupid stubby skeleton standing in the doorway. His cheekbones are stained with tears, eye sockets wide with horror, and he holds two helmets close to his chest.

“kid,” he says again, quieter this time.

You growl as Mettaton dives forward and you leap to the left to dodge. He extends his arm, catching your ankle, and throws you across the lab.

“why?”

You scream and swing the saber wide hoping to cut through one of Mettaton’s arms, but he catches it and snaps your sword in half. The lights of his face are shining red.

“why are you doing this?”

Mettaton moves with a right hook, but you manage to block the blow. Your arm hasn’t fully recovered from when you charged RG 02, and numbness shoots through your muscles.

“kid, please,”

Alphys is behind you. You turn quickly to go after her, wondering if Mettaton would be stronger or weaker without someone to protect.

“stop. just stop,”

Strong metal arms coil around your body and lift you off your feet, dragging you back to Mettaton. He tuts again and holds you tight, “I told you. Your battle is with me. I will not let you hurt Alphys.” You feel yourself rising rapidly as he flies toward the ceiling, “Why don’t we take this little disagreement elsewhere? I’ll show you something simply spectacular! I really think you’ll like it.”

“kid! wait!” that stupid skeleton shouts from below as you crash through the ceiling. Don’t worry, sans. Your turn will come soon, after this stupid tin can is dealt with.


	13. My Name Is Chara

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heh heh posting again to let people know, but I'm on Tumblr now!
> 
> http://skelegirl-fanfic.tumblr.com
> 
> Feel free to share your art with me or ask me anything you like! I love it when people want to talk to me. :3 I'm also working on some fan art of my own that I'll be posting on there!
> 
> You can also reach me by email:
> 
> skelegirl.fanfic@gmail.com
> 
> I am curious to see if anyone has requests or wants to know about other timelines within Rewind. After I'm done with this I will probably be writing sequels to Rewind and Replay, but I'm open to the idea of writing other alternate timelines too. ;) Or even exploring other AU's.

Mettaton drops you on the ground while he glides down and lands gently on a platform. You fell on your side, the side still sore from your fight with the Royal Guard duo, and you wince in pain as your body connects with the ground. You stand up slowly, sucking in a breath through your teeth and roll your shoulders, ignoring the pain shooting through your limbs. You’re a little worse for wear, but still strong enough to take care of this robot.

Speaking of, that arrogant hunk of junk was watching you carefully, arms crossed and drumming his fingers against his arm. He let out a mechanical sigh and rested a hand at the top of his rectangular form. “Honestly, darling, I can not imagine how such a creature as ugly as you made it this far.” He uncrossed his arms and held them in front of his body, “I even had hoped to one day become a star on the surface and perform for humans, but-“ he hesitates and lets his arms fall to his sides, you wince slightly at the sound of scraping metal, that sound was so much better when accompanied with screams, “-this is about so much more than that now, isn’t it? You’re not just a threat to monsters, but humans as well. If you reach the surface…you’ll kill everyone up there too, won’t you?” His pompous voice grows quieter until it fades into a whisper at the end of his question. He stands there for a moment, unmoving and lost in thought, and what you assume to be his face cast down toward the ground.

The silence is short lived as he claps his hands together loudly, “Well now, best we don’t delay the show any longer, and I certainly can’t be a star without an audience!” He throws up his hands again and laughs, “You see there are certain people I want to protect!” The lights on his face glow red as he exclaims, “Only a true fan would know that I was originally designed as a Human Eradication Robot.” he snickers, “After I became a star I was given a more…photogenic form, however those original functions have never been fully removed.” He shoots at you with finger guns and sneers, “Come any closer, and I’ll be forced to show you my true form!”

You silently take two steps forward and he sighs.

“Alright, darling….”

“IIIIIIIIT’S SHOWTIME!!” he exclaims and you’re blinded by a white flashing light. You bring up your arm to shield your eyes and try to squint to see him but all you see are spots dotting your vision.

As the light fades, you see Mettaton now has a more humanoid figure. His hair is spiked up, body covered in sharp armor, and a cannon is equipped on his right hand. He smiles widely at you as he balances the barrel of the cannon in his left hand. “Human, I’m afraid this is your cue to exit stage left.”

Light begins to form within the barrel aimed at your chest, and you smirk as he stands there waiting for it to charge. You clutch the hilt of the knife you carry and sprint forward. He gasps in surprise and you just shake your head as you charge. Did he really think you’d just stand there and wait? You thrust the blade through the heart on his abdomen and he lets out a startled cry. Sparks begin to fly and you have to let go of the blade as you feel electricity trickle down the metal and tingle within your arm. You shake your hand rapidly in front of you to fight the numbness as he falls to his knees.

“G-guess you don’t wanna join my fan club…?” He laughs softly and you jump pack as the robot explodes. You were actually disappointed at how easy he was to defeat as you dig around through the shrapnel to retrieve your weapon. At least now you have a moment to survey your surroundings.

When you realize where you are you smile and lift up the remains of Mettaton’s head. “Why thank you, darling Mettaton! You’ve made it so much easier for me to get to the king!” You laugh and toss his head over your shoulder as you make your way through the corridor. “Stupid bucket of bolts.” you mutter under your breath as you shove your hands in your pockets.

You sigh with relief as you clench and unclench your right fist. Mettaton wasn’t much of a challenge, but at least defeating him increased your LV and helped you recover. You smile softly as you enter a vaguely familiar golden corridor. You let out a low whistle as you glance around the architecture around you, footsteps clicking on the tile beneath your feet. You stop abruptly when you see a small form leaning against a pillar in front of you.

sans.

That damn comedian again.

“kid.” he says weakly as he pushes himself off the pillar and faces you. His eye sockets glow mournfully as he stares into your eyes. “tell me you didn’t kill mettaton too.”

You shrug and glance away, not bothering to answer.

He sighs sadly and in the corner of your eye you can see him glance down at the floor.

“kid…why are you doing this?”

“Quit calling me that.” you snap and glare at him. His head shoots up again, startled at your sharp words.

“w-what?”

“My name is Chara.” you growl as you advance a step closer.

“chara?” he whispers, brow bones furrowing in confusion.

“Yes, that’s my name.” You draw your knife and advance closer still.

He’s still lost in confusion and doesn’t see you approach. You take this opportunity to lunge at him with your knife, but a single bone blocks your attack. The lights of his eyes wink in and out of view before he focuses on your face again. “kid-“ he starts to say.

You cut him off and exclaim, “My name is CHARA!” and kick him firmly in the sternum, sending him backward. He lands in a heap, but you allow him a moment to stand. You’re still ticked that you weren’t able to play with that robot for very long, and you want this fight to last a little while longer.

“chara…” he says quietly to himself as he stands. “that’s a name i haven’t heard in a long time.” He brushes himself off as he meets your gaze once more. “why are you here?”

You smirk and toss the knife up in the air, allowing it to twirl a few times before catching it. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m here to have some fun.”

“no, that’s not what i’m asking.” he says stiffly as his spine straightens.

You tilt your head to the side and raise an eyebrow. His sockets have gone black and he stares at you with emptiness. 

“why are you here, and where is the kid?” he growls and the left side of his eye socket flickers and glows a bright cyan blue. Magic crackles and hums through the air between you, and you can feel the ground beneath you vibrate with energy.

You chuckle to yourself and smile at sans. This was going to be a lot more fun than you expected. “Don’t know what you’re talking about sansy.” you taunt and shrug again, “This is my game now.”

His left eye socket flashes again and his shoulders shake with rage, “i-i don’t want to fight you.” He stares down at his hand sadly, “i don’t want to hurt the kid again,” He clenches his fist and glares at you, “just tell me what you did to convince them to go down this path.”

You rest a hand on your chest, looking affronted. “Are you so sure it’s my fault?” you scoff. He flinches at your words and you continue, “Even if the kid you knew came back, what would you do? You’re supposed to judge, aren’t you? Have you not been paying attention to the LOVE we’ve accumulated?”

An icy grip squeezes your soul as sans clenches his left hand. You gasp in shock as your feet leave the ground and sans snarls, “you better bring the kid back-“ he thrusts his hand sharply to the left and you’re slammed into a pillar, “-or you’re gonna have a bad time.”

You laugh feeling absolutely exhilarated, “Are you kidding? This is the most fun I’ve had!” you exclaim as you leap up again. His perma-grin turns into a grimace as you stand up again and smile widely at him. “C’mon, sans, show me what you got.” You leer at him when he doesn’t move, “I hope you’re stronger than your brother was.”

You can see the rage and sorrow burn within his glowing cyan eye. Love truly is a foolish thing. You chuckle to yourself as you watch his internal struggle. Even after murdering everyone he knew and loved, he still hesitates to kill you. All because of that stupid kid he once knew.

“kid!” he shouts, tears pouring from his eye sockets as bones materialize around him. “please forgive me for this! i-i’ll find a way to bring you back, i promise!”

You zig zag between the bones as they launch toward you and dive toward sans. Swinging your knife from the right you sneer, “How many times do I have to say it? My name is Chara!”

“just shut up!” sans shouts as a skeletal fist connects with your cheek. Blood pools in your mouth and when you spit a few teeth fall to the floor. You glare at sans, his fist still upraised as he jumps back and snaps, “you can burn in hell for all i care, but i’m getting the kid back.”

You wipe your mouth with your sleeve and give him a bloody sneer, “Alright, sans, let’s see you try.”


	14. Idiot

They’re fast. The human effortlessly leaps over your bone attack.

You backpedal as the blade swings wide.

Really fast. The human smirks as they twist and turn, avoiding your Gasterblasters.

You teleport to the right as the knife thrusts forward, aimed at your sternum.

Although…

You smile sadly as you teleport again, further this time, and send a wave of bones across the ground.

The kid had never really tried to kill anyone in previous timelines. All the EXP they collected this time has fueled their LV, and given them strength.

“Stop running you coward!” the human growls as they leap over your bones and charge forward. Their voice is different now. You had noticed it starting to change after they had returned from Undyne’s. It’s much harsher, colder…evil…

Once they’re close enough, you materialize two Gasterblasters on either side and fire. The human drops to the floor and the beams narrowly miss their head. You sigh, feeling a small sense of relief. You really didn’t want to have to kill them, but they didn’t seem to want to give up fighting either. They’ll have to get tired eventually.

Right?

The human stands up again, hair in disarray, and dried blood cracking and falling off their chin. Their eyes narrow at you as they say, “Really, sans? You’re not going to fight me seriously?”

“sorry, kid, but tibia honest, i’ve never been much of a fighter.” you say with a shrug.

“I told you my name is Chara!” the human screams and lunges forward.

You gasp and use your gravity magic to throw them sideways, wincing slightly as their body slams into a wall.

The human laughs as they pick themselves up off the ground. “There we go! Now we’re getting somewhere!” They laugh again once they’re on their feet. They seem a bit unsteady, but you’re not so sure it’s from their injuries. They just seem…unstable.

The cackling continues as they say, “Come on, sans! Don’t you miss your friends?”

Stop.

They sneer, “Don’t you miss Papyrus?”

Stop it.

Their smile widens into a sickening smirk, “Why so quiet all of the sudden?”

Your clenched fists shake at your sides as you feel your magic thrumming through your bones.

Shut up.

They bare their teeth and taunt, “Is something brother-ing you sans?”

“shut the hell up!” you shout and magic crackles through the air, slamming them in the chest and sending them hurtling back. They cough as the air is forced from their lungs and their back slams against a pillar.

Rage and worry battle within your skull as you shakily walk toward the human. Despite having no lungs, you inhale deep, ragged breaths through your teeth. You raise a quivering hand to the sky and more bones appear from above. You glare down at the human as tears pour from your eye sockets.

The human sits where they landed, body sagged against the pillar. They look up through their hair and smirk at you. “Even now, you’re still weak. You can’t bring yourself to kill me, can you?” They stand up slowly and brush off their clothes, stretching their back and wincing slightly as their spine pops. They sigh and rest one hand on their hip as they stare smugly at you, and your still upraised arm shakes as you hesitate to attack. “Don’t you get it? The kid you knew is gone.” They glance up at the bones from above for a moment, before their eyes spark red and they leap forward.

You panic and send the bones flying down. The human growls as they dive and roll away from the attack, glaring at you from across the room. You lean forward and brace yourself on your kneecaps.

“When will you realize that in this world, it’s kill or be killed?!” the human screams as they charge for you once again.

You summon more Gasterblasters to keep them at bay, watching them twist and turn as they dodge the blasts. You groan and clutch at the fabric coving your sternum and shout, “that’s not true! i know the kid is still there!” You can still see their soul. It’s faint, and it’s trapped within darkness, but it’s there.

“Quit being such an idiot!” the human snarls as they dodge another blast. You don’t have enough magic to maintain anymore Gasterblasters and the human is closing in fast. Thinking quickly, you summon a single bone that smacks them right underneath their chin just as the knife was about to crack your sternum. You inhale a shaky breath and clutch your sternum again as the human falls backward onto the ground.

“you…may be…made out…of LV…but i…” your breathing comes in shallow gasps, but you welcome the moment of peace as the human lies on the floor, staring at the ceiling. “but…i…i’m made of…love…”

* * *

_Ch-chara?_

Oh, that’s a voice you haven’t heard in a while. 

_What is it?_ You purr. May as well indulge the idiot a little.

_This…this doesn’t feel right…_

_You doubt me still? He’s attacking us. He punched us. He shot lasers at us. He even smacked us on the chin._ You feign a pout in your mind.

_I…I don’t know…he hasn’t really been trying to kill us._

_Yet._

_I’m just…confused…something feels…wrong._

_The only thing wrong here is the fact that you keep doubting your friend. You said you trusted me._ You really are getting tired of this idiot, but they did give you a body, so that’s something useful.

_Y-you know I do…I just…I don’t want to kill him._

_Ah, but you’re perfectly fine with us killing everyone else?_

The fool cowers in the back of your mind. _N-no I just…I don’t like this. I don’t want to hurt anyone._

_I’m doing this for us. I want us to be safe. I want us to be able to go home._ Lies come so easily it’s almost scary.

The stupid skeleton is waiting patiently for you to get up, muttering some stupid garbage about love. You ignore him and continue to stare up at the ceiling. You’ll deal with him after your internal discussion.

_Can’t we go home without killing him?_

You laugh at that, and you’re sure that confused the skeleton, but you don’t care. _You really think he’ll just let us walk by? He’s a monster. Not only that, but we killed his brother. He wants us dead._

The idiot whimpers in the back of your mind again, but says nothing more.

You sigh and sit up, scratching your head. Now that that seemed to be finished, you rub your chin, opening and closing your mouth a few times to make sure your jaw wasn’t broken, before rising to meet sans’ gaze.

“kid?” that ever hopeful idiot whispers.

“Nope, I told you. My name is Chara.” you say flatly and hold up your knife. He sighs sadly and removes one of his hands from his jacket pockets, and his eye glows blue again. Your grip tightens around the handle as you swing your blade, but his gravity magic forces your body to the left.

He doesn’t send you flying as far as before, and you’re still in range to attack again. You smile as you swing again-

_Please don’t kill him._

The gravity increases on your left and your body shifts to the right. You growl and pivot to jab the blade between his ribs.

_Please. Spare him._

His stupid gravity magic forces you to collapse to your knees as he leaps back. You snarl at him as you struggle to stand upright and advance toward him again.

_Please._

“c’mon, kid, i know you’re in there.” he raises his hands up in surrender and smiles softly, “let’s just stop this fighting, ok?”

Your eyes narrow as you scream and dive forward with the intent of sending the blade through his skull. The idiot’s wails echo in your mind, but you really couldn’t care less. Your attack is cut short, however, and you’re suspended in the air. Icy magic grips your throat as your body floats higher and higher in the air.

“fine. looks like you want to do things the hard way.” His skull is cast downward, and you can’t see his face from your angle high above the ground. His shoulders are shaking as his hand slowly rises higher, leading his magic to lift you upward.

_He was sparing us! Why did you attack him?_ The idiot continues to scream in your mind amid wails and sobs.

sans gazes up at you, his eye sockets void of any light, but tears betray his sorrow. “sorry, kid, but it looks like i’m out of options here. please, forgive me.” he whispers mournfully.

You inhale a strangled gasp, but you can’t get in enough air to correct him again. With the idiot screaming in your mind, and your cut off air supply, it’s becoming really difficult to think clearly. You’re almost as high as the ceiling now and your vision is going black, but you can sense what’s coming next.

_You want control so badly?!_ You snap in your mind. _Then take it!_

sans turns his face down to the floor again as he thrusts his arm down, sending your body flying headfirst to the floor below.

“sans!” you cry out.

“k-kid?” his eye sockets widen in a mixture of surprise and horror when he hears you cry out. You can see him lift his arm again to try and stop you from falling, but the low remains of his magic aren’t enough to stop the velocity of your body.

Your skull cracks on the tile.

Everything is black.


	15. Come Back

_  
Ugh._

_My head…_

_You’re floating in darkness. It makes you feel anxious, but it’s also strangely familiar._

_A sharp jolt pierces through your skull into your brain and you clutch your head, whimpering from the pain._

_This migraine is the worst I’ve had._

_You groan and curl your body inward, pulling your hair and biting your lip to try and distract yourself from your headache._

_I feel like I’m dying._

_You sit there for a while, unsure if it’s been minutes or hours, curled up tight and whimpering quietly each time your brain throbs._

_Then…you hear crying?_

_You lift your head up slowly from your knees and look around the darkness, seeing nothing of course, but you can hear someone crying._

_“Hello?” you call out._

_The crying stops abruptly with a sniffle, as if someone was ashamed at having been caught in such a state. It’s quiet now._

_You sit up a little straighter, feeling concerned. “Hey, are you ok?” you call out again._

_You can hear sniveling closer now as they seem to approach you. They stop in front of you and sob._

_“W-we were k-k-killed.” the voice cries._

_You remember that voice and your heart aches. “Chara? Is that you?”_

_The voice sniffs, “Yeah, it’s me…”_

_“What happened?” You reach out towards your friend, but your hands only grasp emptiness. It’s just as well, you’re not even sure where they are._

_“sans killed us.” Chara says sadly._

_“How?” The headache pulses between your ears and you wince from the pain._

_“We tried to spare him and he-he,” Chara chokes back a sob, “-he just killed us!”_

_That doesn’t sound right…_

_“What happened?” you ask again, furrowing your brows in confusion._

_“We were in the golden corridor and he was there. We tried to lay down our weapon and surrender, and he tricked us. He picked up our body and threw us down on the ground and killed us.” Chara sniffles again and heaves a small, sad sigh._

_That really doesn’t sound right, but why would your friend lie to you?_

_“I remember…I wanted to spare him.” you say quietly._

_“I did too. I thought that he would let us go peacefully.” Chara whispers._

_“What do we do now?”_

_“I don’t know. It was foolish to think they'd let us go without killing us. They’re monsters, after all.”_

_“Y-yeah…” you hesitate, but the searing pain within your head reminds you that Chara’s words had some truth. You had died. That’s why you’re here again._

_“Can you help me, uh us, get back home?”_

_“Of course! This time we’ll make it!” Chara says cheerfully._

_I hope so, but something still doesn’t feel right.  
_

* * *

Oh god.

Oh my god.

You stare down at your shaking hands, dimly aware of Papyrus pounding on your door. His loud voice has fallen faint when competing against the horrible thoughts within your mind.

I killed them.

Everything reset.

I’m the one that killed them.

You stumble out of bed and cautiously open your bedroom door, peeking around the corner. Papyrus is gone, probably downstairs cooking his spaghetti for breakfast, but you have to be sure. You shut the door again and quickly slip on your jacket before exiting your room. Slowly making your way down the stairs, your rib cage thrums unevenly as you lean forward, hoping to catch a glimpse of your brother.

“SANS! WOULD YOU HURRY UP YOU LAZYBONES! WE’RE GOING TO BE LATE FOR WORK!” Papyrus calls out from the kitchen and you could almost cry.

“sorry bro, i uh, didn’t get a skele-ton of sleep last night…” you mutter as you sit down at the table.

In a flash Papyrus is standing over you, eye sockets wide with concern, “ARE YOU ALRIGHT BROTHER?”

No.

“i’m fine.” you smile softly, knowing it doesn’t fool him.

“ANYTHING YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT?” he asks.

Yes.

“nah.” you sigh and wave your hand lazily.

“ARE YOU SURE?” he presses further. Your brother is so awesome, nothing gets by him.

“heh, really bro i’m alright. just leave me to my…skull-king.” you laugh halfheartedly and wink at him.

He throws his arms up in frustration and says, “UGH SANS! YOU AND YOUR HORRIBLE PUNS! WHY MUST YOU DO THIS SO EARLY IN THE MORNING?!”

Because it’s my way of coping.

“dunno bro, but maybe you should go stand outside.”

“HUH?”

“yeah, you need to chill, bro.”

“OH MY GOD!!!” he exclaims and storms into the kitchen. You chuckle as he pours some spaghetti into a paper bag and stomps back over to you. He shoves the soggy lunch bag into your hands and then pushes you towards the door. “ENOUGH OF YOUR JOKES SANS, YOU NEED TO GO TO WORK!” He says as he sends you outside and slams the door behind him. You smile at your front door and sigh. It’s good having Papyrus back.

But…

The smile on your face fades as you gaze towards the outskirts of Snowdin.

Would the kid be back too?

You hold onto the lunch that Papyrus packed for you and teleport to the large stone door blocking the ruins. Tossing the bag into the bushes, you settle in among the trees to wait.

And wait.

And wait…

Oh god.

The silence crawls up your spine and seeps into your bones. Unwelcome thoughts begin to twist and coil within your skull. You lean back against the tree and sink down until you’re sitting in the snow. You pull your legs up against your body and rest your chin on your kneecaps, staring at your shaking hands.

I killed them.

They called out to me.

I killed them.

Tears begin to drip down your face and fall onto your metacarpals. 

It’s all my fault.

I killed them.

The world reset.

It’s my fault.

Chara. Why is Chara here now?

It’s my fault.

Chara corrupted the kid.

Chara convinced the kid to kill.

It’s my fault.

I was selfish. 

I wanted the kid to choose me.

I was angry they fell in love with Papyrus and forgot about me.

It’s my fault.

I attacked them when they tried to help me.

I put my happiness above theirs.

I wished…for a reset…

I just wanted another chance…

It’s my fault.

It’s my fault Chara’s here.

It’s my fault they were able to possess the kid.

It’s my fault.

The sound of stone grating against stone snaps you from your internal torment. Panicked, you jump to your feet and scrub the tears away from your face. You teleport a little closer, but keep within the shadows of the trees. The thrumming within your rib cage freezes when you see the human emerge from the ruins.

Please.

Kid, please come back.

I’m sorry.

You begin the same routine as always, snapping the twig and quickly teleporting away as they turn. You don’t see a weapon, but last timeline they had it hidden in their sleeve. Hopefully they don’t have it this time.

Please, kid.

They’ve reached the bridge and you use your gravity to hold their legs. They flail their arms a bit to catch their balance. You smile softly as they look around, confused and uncertain.

Here we go.

You slowly walk towards them, focusing on the sound of snow crunching underneath your feet. You inhale a breath as you reach their back.

I know you’re in there somewhere.

You open your mouth and say, “human, don’t you know know how to greet a new pal?” Another shaky breath as you release your magic and continue, “turn around and-“

“Cut you down!” the human shrieks as they turn sharply and swing their knife. Panic thrums within your rib cage as you manage to teleport away, but not quite fast enough. The knife was able to cut the fabric resting over your sternum.

The human laughs maniacally, head tossed back to the rocky sky above. Their head flops down quickly as they gaze at you through their hair, taunting you, “Did you really think you could get rid of me that easily, sansy?”

“k-kid…” you whisper.

“It’s Chara you damn skeleton!” the human screams and charges forward. Terror vibrates throughout your bones and you use your gravity to push them away; you don’t want that knife anywhere near you. The human howls in rage as they fly backward.

You’re breathing hard and your vision is blurring. You just need time to think clearly. To figure things out. To come up with some way to get rid of Chara. To save the kid.

A scream interrupts your thoughts.

“kid!” you shout. The magic had pushed them too far back, and they fell over the cliff. “no!” you teleport to the edge just as their body plummets to the bottom. You wince as you hear their body break on the rocky terrain below.

The world begins to shake and crumble, falling into the all too familiar void. You cry out in agony as you stare at the kid’s broken body below you.

Why is this happening?

You fall to your knees as your bones shake with sorrow. Each sob rattles your rib cage painfully as you choke on your grief. There’s nothing but the ground beneath your knees now.

You let yourself fall headfirst into the void.

Kid, I’m so sorry.

Please…please come back…

You’re stronger than this…

Come back…

I don’t care if you hate me…

Just come back…


	16. Rage and Faith

_That comedian…_

_Rage boils within you as you find yourself in the cursed darkness once again._

_That damn skeleton._

_“Chara?”_

_Ugh, the idiot is conscious again._

_“What?”_

_You’re so sick of this. Playing nice with the idiot. It’s just a waste of time._

_“Are you ok? You seem mad…and my back hurts…what happened?”_

_“The damn skeleton killed us again!”_

_The idiot shrinks back away from you and whimpers, “Why are you so angry? Why are you being mean to me?”_

_“Because I’m sick of this shit! That skeleton needs to be punished.”_

_“C-can we try being nice this time? I don’t think the monsters are as terrible as you think they are. Maybe they can help us.”_

_“Shut up!” you snarl at the fool and send your rage toward their direction. They scream as the darkness engulfs them._

_I’m done playing nice with you. This is my game now and we will do things my way. Your angered thoughts give strength to the shadows around the idiots’ soul. You can feel them futilely struggle against the restraints._

_But first…_

_Light blossoms from above and you know you’ll be waking up among the flowers soon._

_First I must teach sans a lesson._

_You smirk as the shadows melt away and you can feel your soul bonding to the body once more._

_Yes, this will be fun._

* * *

“Back again, I see.” Flowey snickers once you open your eyes.

“Shut your mouth, you weed.” you snap as you stand, brushing dirt off your pants.

“Let me guess, it’s the smiling garbage bag, isn’t it?” he asks smugly as he offers you your weapon.

“I told you to shut up.” You snatch the blade from his vines and he just laughs.

“You have a strange gleam in your eye. What do you have planned this time-“

Heat erupts from your right, and the whoosh of flame interrupts him. He lets out a startled squeak as a fireball crashes into the dirt in front of him, eyes wide in terror he retreats into the ground.

“My what an awful creature.” Toriel says from behind you.

You quickly hide your knife in your sleeve and run to her. “I was so scared!” you say as you feign a sob and hug her. “Thank you for saving me lady!”

“Oh, my child! I will keep you safe.” she says as she hugs you back. You try to not flinch as faint memories echo in your mind.

* * *

I can’t do this.

I can’t.

“SANS! WAKE UP YOU LAZY BONES!” Papyrus shouts for the third time as he pounds on your bedroom door.

Go away.

“SANS!” He bursts through the door, startling you. He stops for a moment as you tumble out of bed. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING ON THE FLOOR? WE HAVE WORK TO DO!”

“i’m just ready to carpet diem.” you say and raise a fist lazily in the air.

“I DON’T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS.” he says simply and shakes his head.

“yeah…i don’t either tibia honest.”

“REALLY SANS?” he sighs and shakes his head, “GET OFF THE FLOOR AND GO RECALIBRATE YOUR PUZZLES!” He turns and leaves your room, shutting the door behind him.

“sure, bro.” you say quietly to the door, then turn your head to stare up at the ceiling. Your legs are still up on the bed, and your spine is resting on the floor. You hold your hands above your face and weep.

I killed them again.

I was fighting Chara, and I killed them.

If what Chara claims is true, and they’ve possessed the kid’s body, then that means I killed Chara.

But…

The kid was still in there somewhere too…

It was faint, but I could still see their soul.

They had to be…they just had to be…

And if that’s true then…

I killed the kid too.

Even though I was trying to stop Chara, I killed the kid too.

I didn’t want to.

I’ve never wanted to hurt the kid.

I can’t do this.

I don’t want to hurt the kid…

I don’t want to have to kill them…

But how do I stop Chara?

You rest your left radius over your eye sockets and clutch at your sternum with your right hand, crying as quietly as you could. The last thing you needed was Papyrus hearing you and being pulled even further into this mess.

“what do i do?” you whisper mournfully to the empty air.

Nothing answers.

You laugh weakly. Maybe that is the answer.

Nothing.

You let your legs fall off the bed and sit up slowly. You stare at the floor without really seeing it, and allow your mind to wander. There’s been a decent handful of resets now. Sometimes they’re caused by the human dying, or panicking and choosing to reset. It always comes back to this same day, and you start over again and again. Chara just adds another dynamic to the anomaly. Now that they’re here, do you attack them on the spot, or wait to see if the kid returns? You refuse to believe the kid is gone completely, but you don’t want to see your friends die again and again. On the other bony hand, if you kill them the moment they leave the ruins to force start a reset, the kid might not ever have enough time to gather strength to overpower Chara. You’re stuck in a potential nightmare loop either way. You let out a frustrated sigh as you slip on your jacket.

Nothing.

Each timeline I’ll act as if nothing happened.

I’ll hold onto what small hope I have left and wait for the kid to come back.

And if Chara comes back, I’ll be ready. I’ll judge them for their actions, for all the EXP they may collect… I’ll even fight them if I must. I’ll…I’ll do whatever I have to to stop them…

You smile softly and scrub the tears from your face as you stand.

Please forgive me for what I may have to do, kid.

Just promise me you’ll come back someday.

You can’t be gone, I won’t accept that. I know you’re in there somewhere. 

I’ll wait for you, until you find the strength to break free from Chara’s corruption.

You sigh as you stare down at your hands again, holding them close to your sternum.

I believe in you, kid.

That’s the best I can offer.

That’s all I have left.

You chuckle quietly to yourself and scratch the back of your skull. Doing nothing sounds like a lot of work. You let your vision fade for a moment as you inhale deeply, finding a small peace as your rib cage expands with the breath. You’d prefer to avoid Papyrus today, you’re really not sure how well you can keep it together right now, so when you exhale you allow yourself to fall within a glitch of space that takes you to the door of the Ruins.

The door opens as you appear and you inhale a sharp breath. You can see the human. They seem to be…talking to someone? They’re smiling and nodding frequently, gesturing to their cell phone.

Could that be the kid?

You cautiously watch from within the trees as they continue on down the path. They seem to be walking in a light, happy pace. Your rib cage thrums unsteadily.

The twig snaps and the human whirls around wildly and slips in the snow. You laugh quietly.

They’re at the bridge now. You gently hold their legs down with your gravity, and cautiously make your way toward them, keeping an eye socket out for any hidden knives.

Their back stiffens as they hear the crunch of your footsteps approach. You pause once you’ve reached them and focus on breathing for a moment. Once you’re ready you say the same line once more, “human, don’t you know how to greet a new pal?” Magic dissipates, limbs are freed, hands are cautiously watched with hollow eye sockets. “turn around and shake my hand.”

The human hesitates for a moment, but grasps your hand firmly. The musical sounds of the whoopee cushion echo around you and you can’t help but chuckle.

“heh, the ol’ whoopee cushion in the hand trick. it’s always funny.” you say with a soft smile as you peel the whoopee cushion off your metacarpals and shove it in your pocket.

The human giggles and says, “Yeah that was pretty funny. I wasn’t expecting that!”

Your smile grows as you wink and say, “the name’s sans. what’s yours?” Ok, so maybe you wouldn’t be completely acting as if nothing had happened in a previous timeline before, but it was just a small test. Chara had seemed pretty insistent on you knowing who they were.

The human frowns for a moment and scrunches up their face thoughtfully, “I don’t really know. I must’ve hit my head pretty hard when I fell down.” They shrug sadly, “I don’t remember.”

“mind if i call ya kid then?” you ask shyly.

The human smiles and thinks for a moment before saying, “Well, I guess that’s fine. I don’t think I’m really a kid anymore by human years but-“ they gesture behind you toward the Ruins, “-the goat monster lady, Toriel, wanted me to call her mom so I guess in a way I am a kid?” Their voice started to get a little higher and they laughed away their embarrassment. “Sorry, that was stupid.”

“are you kid-ding me?” you chuckle and the human laughs with you, “c’mon let’s head through this gate thingy, kid, you’ve just goat to meet my brother, Papyrus.”


	17. Joy and Disgust

You guide the human to the conveniently shaped lamp and tell them to hide here for a moment. Your usual banter with Papyrus always makes you smile, especially when he gets flustered, but you have to remember not to say your puns too quickly or he might think you’re predicting the conversation.

After he runs off you turn to the lamp, “ok, kid, you can come out now.”

The human emerges from their hiding spot with a smile, “Your brother seems really cool.”

You wink at them, “that’s ice of you to say. he can be a little excitable, but he could never hurt someone even if he tried.”

They laugh and rest a hand on their chest, “Oh, that’s such a relief! You had me worried for a bit there when you told me he was a human hunting fanatic!”

“nah, don’t sweat it. i’ll keep an eye socket out for ya.”

The human grins and says, “Thanks, sans!” 

They start to turn to leave and you say, “hey, uh, kid?”

“Hm?” They look over their shoulder and raise an eyebrow.

“if it wouldn’t be much trouble…i think it’d make my brother really happy to see you, uh, i mean to see a human…” You shift from foot to foot awkwardly and glance away.

“Tibia honest, I’m kind of excited to see what puzzles he has.” The magic within your cheekbones tingles at their pun, and you look at them again, eye sockets wide. “I’m sure someone as excited and cool as him will have a lot of fun ideas.”

They turn away once more and you watch their back as they go, rib cage thrumming wildly. You shove your hands further within your jacket pockets, and sink your face down further into the fluff of your hood. You really hoped you weren’t blushing right now.

The kid…

The kid had to be back this time…

You decide to take a shortcut and follow them along as they played with Papyrus. They looked upset and called out to him when he was shocked by his own maze, and asked him if he was ok. You decided to not be involved when they came to your puzzle this timeline. You preferred to observe from the shadows, and of course Papyrus was not pleased with your absence. The human smiled and agreed with him that sometimes Junior Jumble puzzles could be really difficult and he was delighted. They laughed with him as they jumped over switches together to solve the X and O puzzle that had been rearranged. You smiled softly as you watched them. They seemed so happy.

You almost wept for joy each time they spared a monster. They hadn’t tried to hurt a single monster they encountered. They did seem a little afraid of Greater Dog at first, but after they realized he was just a small dog in a huge mechanized suit, they warmed up to him too.

Your rib caged thrummed again. They had made it all the way to The Gauntlet Of Deadly Terror without hurting a single monster. Papyrus complained once again of your absence when the human reached the bridge, but the human just shrugged and said they didn’t mind. Predictably, Papyrus didn’t feel comfortable using the “puzzle” against the human, and dismissed it. He was crestfallen at failing to capture the human before they reached Snowdin, but you knew in about two minutes he’d regain his confidence and plan to ambush the human just before Waterfall.

It’s been about a minute and a half now…

There we go. Papyrus perked right up as he always does and cheerfully waved goodbye to the human before running off. The human looked a little confused, but just shook their head and chuckled.

You take this opportunity to teleport at their side. “hey, kid.”

“Oh! You startled me!” The human jumps and waves their hands frantically.

“heh, sorry kid. didn’t mean to spook ya.”

“It’s ok.” the human grins and says, “I guess I’m just spineless; I get spooked easily.”

Ah, geez. You shrink back into the fluff of your hood again and look away. You really really hope you’re not blushing now.

“sans?” the human asks, peering around you with a worried glance.

“s-sorry i uh, i guess i’m just chilled to the bone.” you laugh weakly and shake your head, hoping to shake off the tingling under your cheekbones with it. It didn’t help.

Their eyebrows furrow thoughtfully for a moment. “Is there somewhere we can go?” A sly grin spread across their face, “I wouldn’t want you to freeze your ass off out here.”

God damn it. You’re pretty sure your whole skull is bright blue by now. “i-i’ll be ok, heh, n-nothing gets under my skin.” You stutter nervously and chuckle again. Now that’s a fibula and a half.

They giggle and turn toward Snowdin, “Well, ok then, I guess I’ll be continuing on. Bye sans!” They wave goodbye and run towards the town.

“bye…kid…” you whisper quietly with a tentative smile on your face.

Please be the kid this time.

* * *

Disgusting.

You glare at the Snowdrake’s back as they leave, chattering on about how happy they were that you thought they were funny. As if. Puns and jokes are not at all funny in the slightest, but all these monsters are too stupid to recognize a fake laugh when they hear one.

Filthy creatures.

It actually pained you to have to spare them all. Especially after wasting so many hours with Papyrus’s stupid puzzles. That giggling buffoon couldn’t stop talking for ten minutes and his puzzles were terrible. Really? Junior Jumble? Papyrus had a hard time solving that? Although, to be fair, you weren’t really surprised. The guy was an idiot.

Foul beasts.

His brother was even worse. Ugh, it was like he…liked this human or something. You shudder as you walk through the snow. How gross is that? He did mention some stupid garbage about love a few timelines ago, but you hadn’t really thought much about what he meant. You remember his weird blue face as you walk through Snowdin. Oh, god. Was that a monster’s way of blushing? How sickening. You didn’t want to arouse suspicion and had decided to play nice, but you definitely didn’t want to arouse…anything else.

Nauseating swine.

You try your best to hide your hatred as the townsfolk greet you and wave hello. Your fingers ached to reach for your knife, and your lip twitched in disgust whenever one walked too close. You close your eyes and inhale a deep breath through your nose. It’s ok. It’s fine. This timeline doesn’t matter. Bile rose within your throat as a stupid monster kid ran up to you and asked if you were a kid too because you wore stripes. You politely explained what a sweater was and moved on. Could you actually throw up from being around these vile creatures too long? The burning in the back of your throat seemed to think so.

Your eye was twitching now from all the irritation. Just one…just kill one more…no I have to wait… You smile to yourself. Be patient, Chara, there’s plenty of time to enjoy their suffering. This timeline is a message. You can come back and kill them ten, no, a hundred times over. Maybe even more!

Your grin widens as you reach the end of Snowdin, feeling much better as you promise yourself to return again and finish what you missed this timeline.

“HUMAN!” Papyrus exclaims excitedly when he sees you through the flurry of snow.

“Hey Papyrus!” you say as you wave happily to him. Finally.

“HUMAN, I WAS IMPRESSED WITH YOUR PUZZLE SOLVING SKILLS, BUT I MUST BE HONEST. I HAVE TO CAPTURE YOU IF I WANT TO BECOME A ROYAL GUARD.” he glanced away and you could see him grit his teeth, “I-I’M SORRY, BUT I MUST FIGHT YOU NOW.”

“That’s alright, I understand.” You withdraw the knife from your sleeve and hide it behind your back, “But first, do you mind if I say something?”

“OF COURSE NOT, HUMAN! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM VERY WELL-MANNERED! FEEL FREE TO TELL ME WHATEVER YOU LIKE.” He smiles happily and claps his hands together while he waits.

“I really like that scarf. It looks so nice on you.” You smile and wink at him.

“OH WOWIE! ARE YOU FLIRTING WITH ME?!” he exclaims. Huh, his cheekbones glow pink.

“Sure.” you say with a shrug. Take it that way if you want, I mostly just want your scarf.

“W-WE CAN DATE LATER! AFTER I CAPTURE YOU!” he shouts as bones appear before him.

Yeah, after you capture me. Good luck with that.

You smile darkly as you charge forward with your knife raised.


	18. Dirty Brother Killer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry! I didn't mean to leave this on a cliffhanger like that for the last few days. This weekend was just a bit busy with work, and a birthday. I also wanted to play through this ending myself before writing this chapter, because before I had only heard rumors about what happened but didn't see firsthand how it affected the game. I did tweak it here and there, but also did borrow some of the dialogue.

“I can’t understand.” Flowey says as he watches you lift the scarf from the pile of dust. “Why would you go through all the effort of acting innocent, just to kill him?”

You smirk as you shake the remains free of the cloth and wrap it around your neck. “Well, it’s not acceptable to have a pawn step outside his role.”

“What?” Flowey looked up at you, perplexed.

You chuckle and explain, “This is just a game to me. A source of entertainment. Everyone here has a role they’re expected to play.”

“Y-yeah I understand that part…” he answered hesitantly.

You nodded happily and wrap the scarf tighter around you as a chilling breeze floated around your shoulders. “Can you imagine what chaos would be created if a pawn randomly decided to move like a knight or rook in a game of chess?” You shake your head and sigh, “It just doesn't make sense and ruins the game.”

“Uh…” Flowey looked a little lost at this point and you laugh.

Holding one finger up while leaning down toward him you say, “However, in chess, when a pawn reaches the end of an enemy's territory, it can be promoted.” You straighten and shrug, “After that, it’s acceptable for a pawn to become a knight, rook, or even a queen.”

“I don’t get it.” Flowey mutters as his face contorts into a mixture of frustration and confusion.

You sigh again and look down at him. “sans is a pawn. He is not supposed to attack or kill me as a pawn.” You frown slightly and fold your arms, “He doesn’t get promoted until we reach ‘the end’ or rather, the judgement hall.” Your lip twitches with disdain as you say, “That’s when he’s promoted. Afterward, he is allowed to attack me and even kill me if he judges it to be necessary.”

Flowey looks up at you with a questioning face, “So why go through all this to just kill Papyrus?”

You smile down at him, “Because, I know that he won’t kill me this time. I just wanted to make him suffer.” You throw back your head and laugh. Yes, once his punishment is done you’ll reset and start over and clean up this disgusting place properly. You kick the dust out of your way and tuck your chin within the fabric of the stolen scarf. “sans needs to be reminded of his place in my game.” you say coldly as you turn your back to Flowey and traverse through the snow to Waterfall.

* * *

“so you finally made it.” sans says quietly, gaze cast down to the floor as you approach him within the golden corridor. He doesn’t want to look at you with that scarf around your neck. That’s too bad, he can’t see the grin on your face either.

“the end of your journey is at hand. in a few moments, you will meet the king. together…you will determine the future of this world. that’s then,” his sorrowful voice cracks and you choke back a snicker, “now, you will be judged. you will be judged for every action, every EXP you’ve earned…” You yawn and space out a bit as he rambles on with his explanation and tap your foot impatiently.

“now it’s time to begin your judgment. look inside yourself. have you really done the right thing? and, considering what you have done… what will you do now? take a moment to think about this.” his eye sockets are hollow and his skull is still tilted downward as he focuses on the tile just before your feet. You fight the urge to roll your eyes as you wait in silence.

“truthfully,” he whispers, “it doesn’t really matter what you would’ve said. all that’s important is that you’re honest with yourself. what happens now…we leave up to you. though…” he shifts uncomfortably, looking at your direction for a moment, and then catching his breath and turning his face away again, “one thing about you always struck me as kinda odd. now, i understand acting in self-defense.” his voice breaks again and he clears his nonexistent throat, “you were thrown into those situations against your will. but…sometimes…” his voice cracks again and your grin widens. He still hasn’t met your gaze; the poor fool is still so naive. “you act like you know what’s gonna happen. like you’ve already experienced it all before. this is an odd thing to say, but…” He sinks his head down within the fluff of his hood and a tear falls from his eye socket, “if you had some sort of special power…isn’t it your responsibility to do the right thing?”

“No.” you say smugly and his head jerks up, finally meeting your eyes and witnessing your triumphant grin.

Tears began to flow freely as he said, “kid, i don’t understand. i…won’t judge you, but…why…why did you kill my brother?”

You snort again and twirl the end of the scarf around while resting a hand on your hip, “You ask me why? Because it was fun.”

His eye sockets widen in horror and he sucks in a breath, “kid…”

You stop twirling the scarf abruptly and scowl at him. “I’m done with this charade. Are you really this dense, sans?” You take long strides towards him, stopping just two feet away, “I don’t know why I have to keep repeating this: My name is Chara.”

His eye sockets go black as the realization hits him and he stumbles backward. “w-what? i-i thought…”

You giggle and say, “You thought your precious friend was back? You thought exactly what I wanted you to think.” You quickly step forward and grab fistfuls of his jacket, pulling him towards you. His eye sockets are voids of terror as you force him to meet your eyes. “That was a cheap shot, sans. Pushing me off the cliff like that.” You shove him backward and he falls to the floor.

“th-that was an accident…” he stutters.

You snarl and slap him across the mandible. He cries out in pain as his skull is jerked to the left. “Don’t give me your excuses. I thought you said you weren’t much of a fighter.” You sneer down at him as he cups his injured mandible in his hand, whimpering up at you. “Aren’t you supposed to be a sentry? Supposed to judge those who come in here to meet the king?” You lean back and glare down your nose at him, “Well, now’s your chance. Am I worthy to fight now? My LV is only at a 6.” When he doesn’t respond you taunt him again. “That’s not worth it though, is it? My LV has to be much higher before a lazy piece of shit like you decides to do something.” He refuses to meet your gaze now, and sobs quietly, tears dripping down to the floor. You sneer at his pathetic form as you say, “Or did your brother really not mean that much to you?”

“you…” sans’ voice was shaking as he clenched his fists in anger. You took a half step in surprise, and felt magic crackle in the air, causing the atmosphere between you two to feel much heavier than before. In a flash, sans tackles your middle and knocks you to the ground. You let out a gasp of shock and pain as the back of your head smacks into the tile with a resounding whack. “you…” he says again leaning over you, breathing hard despite no internal organs. “you dirty brother killer!” he shouts in your face as rage, grief, and fear boil within him. His left eye now glows with a mixture of gold and cyan, and his left hand is upraised as if he intends to crush your throat. He glares at you for a few long minutes, breaths coming in slow, ragged gasps.

He doesn’t make another move. You lay on your back with arms splayed out and make no effort to defend yourself. Instead, you just cooly meet his torn expression with an indifferent one. His jaws open and close as if he is trying to find words to say, and his left hand quivers in the air. You can see his glowing eye flicker over your face, to the scarf, your face, your eyes, scarf again, and so on. You smirk and say, “I see. So vengeance for your brother isn’t worthy of a fight from you.” You snort dismissively as he lets out an anguished cry, “That’s some really messed up morals you got there.” You punch him again in the mandible and he howls in pain and shock as he falls to the side.

You stand up slowly and brush yourself off, removing the scarf and tossing it down in front of him. He’s kneeling on the floor now and grabs hold of the scarf, holding it close against his rib cage. You glare down in disgust, “Don’t you worry, sans. I’ll play the game properly this time and we’ll have our battle. But if you try to break out of your role again, I’ll be sure to send you through hell over and over again.”

He doesn’t bother to respond. Instead, he simply buries his face in the cloth and sobs. 

Feeling satisfied, you allow your vision to blur and grasp the air in front of you, turning it counterclockwise to start a reset. 

Only…

Just as the world around you starts to fade…

You clutch at your head, “What is this?” you stumble back and forth as you feel your body weaken. “No!” you cry out as you feel your mind being overpowered.

* * *

“sans!” you shout and jump over the gap that appeared between you. The world around you crumbles and disappears into the void, but you have a task you must accomplish before it fades away and you’re trapped in the darkness again.

He doesn’t look up at you, and just lies in a broken heap, clutching his brother’s scarf tight against his body.

“sans.” you say again, softer this time and rest a hand on his shoulder blade. He flinches away from your touch. You let your hand fall to your side and begin to cry.

“i…i’m so…sorry…sans…” you say between sobs. You can hear glass shatter and rock break around you, but you don’t care.

sans finally tilts his head up slightly, cautiously meeting your eyes. You smile through your tears and reach out to him again, but your hand hesitates just an inch away.

“kid?” he whispers quietly, lights within his eye sockets flickering with distrust and hope.

You nod quickly and say, “I can’t stay, but sometimes during resets I can take contro-“

Bony arms are wrapped so tightly around your middle you can’t find the breath to finish your sentence. His bones rattle as he sobs into your shoulder. You hug him close to comfort him, but his body just shakes even more when you gently stroke his spine.

Now it’s just you two on your small platform in an empty abyss.

“kid,” he whispers quietly as he nuzzles into your neck, sighing once his sobs fade away as he finds comfort in your embrace. “please come back, kid. i need you.”

“I-I’ll try.” you clear your throat as guilt and sadness wash over you. You will try... but no matter how many times Chara has reset, your memories always begin hazy and your determination remains weak. Chara would still try to deceive you, or just overpower you. Sometimes you fight with everything you have to regain control. Other times…you…don’t fight back nearly as much as you should…or at all… It just feels so…hopeless.

In the corner of your eye you can see your small platform begin to crumble away at the edges. It’s almost time now. You can’t delay the reset for much longer.

sans leans back slightly and cups your cheek in a skeletal hand. He smiles when you sigh contentedly as his thumb lightly brushes across your skin. “kid, i don’t care how long it takes. i can handle whatever chara throws at me. just promise me you’ll come back one of these timelines, and stay. ok?”

“I…” you swallow the lump in your throat as you look into sans’ mournful, yet still hopeful eye sockets. His affectionate gaze fills you with determination.

“I promise.” You say quietly and sans’ smile softens.

“that’s all i need to keep going.” he says and presses a kiss to your forehead just as the last of the tiles beneath you shatter into nothing. You fall away, alone and in the darkness, and rest a hand on your forehead.

Please, let me remember this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would call myself a monster, but that would be an insult to all the precious people in the Underground. I really don't know what happened. After that first battle between sans, Chara, and the reader I just keep thinking of different runs I could do to send these precious babies through hell and back. I don't know if I'll write all the timelines I've been thinking about, but we'll see. :)
> 
> Maybe I'm possessed by Chara o.O


	19. Beautiful Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter is a bit short, but this part just seemed to make more sense standing on it's on instead of included with the last chapter. :)

_  
“Clever. Very clever.” A wicked voice purrs from deep within the shadows._

_“Please, Chara, I don’t want to fight anymore. I don’t want to fight you or Toriel or Papyrus…or sans…” you call out into the shadows, wandering aimlessly hoping to find the source of the voice, “Let’s stop this. Please.”_

_Chara chortles as you wander in circles with your arms outstretched. “Are you kidding? I’ll admit, I’m not pleased with your little…act of mercy.” Chara sighs dismissively and says, “Taking over as I reset to comfort that idiot, but-“_

_Suddenly large glowing red eyes appear before you. You shriek and stumble back as a wide and toothy sneer shines down on you._

_“I’d be lying if I said this didn’t make things much more interesting. Honestly, you thought you were doing a kindness by comforting him, but that’ll just make him that much more fun to tear down.”_

_“W-what are you going to do?” you stutter, staring up at the demonic eyes. You can feel your determination waver as fear grips your soul._

_“Well, originally I had planned on finishing off the Underground one final time and then continuing on to the surface, but now-“ The voice cuts off shortly as the jaws part widely in maniacal laughter. Just as abruptly as it started, the laughter stopped and the teeth shown in a smirk, “I think it’d be much more fun to break you and your precious friend.”_

_“N-no you can’t do that!” You shout back in defiance on shaky legs._

_Chara snickers again and the glowing red eyes move closer, “Do you really think your determination is stronger than mine? How stupid are you?”_

_You felt your soul waver and clutched at your chest. “I-I…” You want to fight back. You want to regain control. You want to go back and undo every terrible act you and Chara have committed. You want to see your friends again. You want Papyrus and sans back._

_Gazing up at the wretched face of your captor you feel your determination drain away from your soul._

_“I…” you say weakly._

_Chara laughs again and sneers, “I wonder which one of you will break first? sans perhaps? Or I suppose it could be you. You’re nothing but a weak little fool, and you’re half broken already.” The grin widens even more and you shudder at the sight, “Let’s see how many timelines it takes for me to destroy you completely.”_

_Your whole body shakes with terror but you manage to slowly move your arms to your sides and clench your fists. “I-I won’t let you hurt anyone!” God, you can’t even feign confidence and you know Chara can see right through you._

_“Ah, such a precious little idiot. You still haven’t realized that you have no choice here, have you?” The teeth part again and you scream as a thick black tar-like substance flows down, quickly trapping you within the sludge._

_“sans! Help-“ you try to cry out, but the tar quickly rises to your mouth and nose. Your screams are muffled, and tears of panic flow down your cheeks. Your lungs begin to burn as you feel yourself suffocating, and the tar coats every inch of your body except for your eyes._

_Chara looks down at you again and smirks, “Don’t worry. This won’t kill you, and I’ll allow you to keep your eye sight each timeline.” Another malicious snicker, “Did you really worry that I’d blind you too? You don’t know me at all. I’m not that merciful.”_

_Your muffled whimpers seem to entertain Chara even more as they laugh at your struggles._

_“No. You’ll get to watch each and every time your precious friends die.”_

_You weakly try to break free of the muck, but your limbs won't respond. Each futile effort only causes the substance to constrict around you further, searing into your skin._

_“Are you ready to wake up now?”_

_Light filters in from above and you can feel the two of you rise to bond to your body once more._

_“Ah, looks like it’ll be a beautiful day today.”_

_I’m so sorry sans._

_“Yes, such a beautiful day.”_

_I wasn’t strong enough this time._

_“A perfect day to send all your friends to hell.”_

_I hope you're stronger than me.  
_


	20. Hate and LOVE

“That bitch.” You growl in frustration as you once again retrieve your weapon from Flowey, ignoring his condescending taunts.

That stupid fish.

You quickly sheath the blade just as Toriel ‘saves’ you from the stupid weed. She seems to detect your annoyance, but her ever sickening demeanor doesn’t change as she guides you through the ruins.

This will take forever. 

You growl in frustration when she turns her back, and smile kindly each time she checks on you. You sigh inwardly as you exit the ruins and make your way through the snow.

But, it’ll still be entertaining.

 

It took three agonizingly long weeks to get to this point, but the monsters were always so dimwitted and trusting.

“Can I have you do me a favor, punk?” Undyne asks shyly as she stands in front of the skelebro’s house.

“Sure.” You put on your best friendly smile you can muster.

“Can you deliver this to Alphys for me?” she hands you an envelope and blushes as she looks away. “I uh, don’t really like Hotland all that much.”

“I’d be happy to!” Ugh, you hate how perky and helpful your voice sounds.

“And if you open it and read it I’ll kill you.” She says with a laugh, not-too-lightly punching you in the arm.

You just smile and rub the bruise that begins to form. Yeah, you’ve killed me before with your damn spears. That’s why I’m here putting up with all this stupidity, waiting for my chance at revenge.

You hum a tune as you dutifully make your way to Hotland to deliver the letter. Predictably, Alphys makes a mistake and assumes the letter is from you when it clearly is from her crush that also has a crush on her and everyone in the entire Underground can see it. You smile softly and agree to go on a date with her and agree that the dump would be perfect. It really would be.  
Dark and secluded, it really is pretty convenient.

Following close behind her as she flails her arms and blabbers on and on about some weird anime or something that you just have to watch, you quietly unsheathe your blade.

“Alphys.” you say quietly, causing her to stop and turn toward you. You plunge the knife into her chest just as she faces you.

“W-what are y-you d-doing?” she stutters, eyes wide in shock.

You tilt your head to the side and grin, “Why, I’m taking out the trash, Alphys.”

She lets out a small squeak as her body crumples into dust. You gaze down as the silvery powder mixes in with the water. How pretty.

“Hey, punk! Have you seen Alphys? I thought I heard her voice…” Undyne approaches from behind you, scanning the dump with her eye.

You turn silently toward her and smirk.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” She asks with her eyebrow raised. As she walks closer, a small trickle of dust ripples down toward her boots. She gasps in shock and looks down at your feet, and sees Alphys’ glasses.

“What happened?!” she screams and lunges forward, shoving you out of the way.

“Alphys! Alphys?!” she cries and tries to scoop up the dust from the water, but it runs through her fingers.

In her distraught state she doesn’t see you sneak up from behind until it’s too late. You hold the knife against her throat and laugh in her ear.

“You got in my way, and cut me down. Now it’s your turn.” you whisper as you slit her throat.

Her dust mixes and churns with Alphys’ and you smile. It almost seemed poetic in a way, but it wasn’t meant to last.

You grasp the air before you and turn it counterclockwise, being sure to keep hold of the idiot to ensure you remain in control as the world fades again.

You can feel their soul weakening, but they still have a small amount of determination within them.

That will need to be fixed soon.

* * *

sans gasps in shock as you slam his spinal column up against the wall. You smirk in his stupid face as he pants heavily. He ran out of magic way to easily. You pin him to the wall with your hand griping his clavicle and forearm across his cervical vertebrae.

“Is that really all you got this time around?” you taunt, spitting in his face. He flinches, but is too exhausted to wipe it off or push you away. Your lip twitches with disgust as you take a closer look at your opponent.

“Ugh, you monsters are so disgusting.” The lights in his eyes flicker into darkness as he lets out a choked breath. You smile as a look of defeat washes over his stupid permagrin. He groans in pain and hangs his skull down low, waiting for the end to come once more.

“Sorry, sans, but I’m gonna need you to look at me.” you sneer as you withdraw your knife, digging it into the vertebrae just under his rib cage. He shrieks in pain as you wedge it between the gaps of his spine. Pain hazed eye sockets widen and meet your gaze once more.

“Tell me something, you disgusting piece of filth.” you whisper as you wedge the knife deeper, smiling as he whimpers quietly. He wants to hide his pain, clearly not wanting to give you the satisfaction, but his face betrays him.

“How can you scream with no lungs?” You twist the knife and hear a lovely snap and he screams just like you wanted, and his knees collapse underneath him. Your arm is the only thing keeping him upright.

“How can you cry without tear ducts?” The blade scrapes sharply against the underside of his rib cage and tears begin to drip from his eye sockets.

You lean in closer to him so your cheek rests against his face and whisper where his ear would be, “How can you die without a heart?” The knife pierces his sternum from behind, causing it to shatter. Agonizing screams fill your ears as you step back to admire your handiwork. He crumples into dust before his skull can hit the floor.

“So, what’d you think of that?” you ask smugly to the idiot trapped within your mind.

No response.

The idiot only whimpers and mourns the death of their stupid friend. Pitiful.

“Well, time to reset and do this again. You ready?”

You laugh as the fool pleads for you to stop.

Their futile cries fill you with determination.

* * *

“Tell me, sans, have you begun to hate this face yet?” you ask as you easily dodge his gasterblasters.

He flinches and turns his face away, but you can see tears fall down his face. Man, he sure cries a lot. Without looking at you, he raises his arm and sends another wave of bones toward you.

You dodge the attack again and sigh, feeling annoyed. “No need tibia so cold, sans. It’s not polite to ignore a question.”

He glares at you and grips your soul with his gravity magic, “why?” he asked quietly, “why are you doing this?”

You grit your teeth from the effort as his attacks are much more difficult to dodge with the added weight. Bones strike from all directions, and a gasterblaster catches you on the shoulder. He winces each and every time you take a hit, and his expression is pained when you fall to your knees.

He slowly walks through the debris from your battle toward you and whispers again, “why are you doing this?”

“I told you! This is just a game to me!” you shout and he slams your face down into the tile.

“why are you doing this?” he stops just short of you and gazes down with mournful eye sockets.

You spit blood from your mouth and snarl, “It’s kill or be killed! That’s how it was, and how it will always be!”

Pain shoots through your jaw as he slams you down into the ground again, only to lift you to your knees once more.

He clenches his fist and stares down at you for a moment, watching as the blood drips from your chin down to the floor.

“you used to be human.” he says quietly, mostly to himself. He relaxes his hand and turns away slightly.

You snort at his statement and he glances at your with confusion. “Yeah, that’s true, but I’m not anymore. You know what they say about wishes, right?”

You force yourself to stand on shaky legs and wipe away the blood from your face. It smears on your sleeve, but it doesn’t concern you. You give sans a gruesome smirk and say, “When I died I wished for the power to destroy. I am the embodiment of hatred and LOVE.” You straighten up and charge forward with your knife raised. He gasps in shock as you scream, “And that’s all I’ve ever needed!”

A sharpened bone launches towards your chest and you smile to yourself. This is exactly what you wanted.

The idiot screams as their heart is pierced with their ‘friend’s’ attack. Blood spills from their wound as they collapse onto the ground. sans falls backward and holds his face in his hands, apologizing again and again for what he had done and wishing there was some other way he could trigger a reset. He didn’t want to hurt the kid anymore, and he didn’t know if he had the strength to keep fighting.

You smile within the depths of the idiot’s mind. It’s been quite convenient to be able to allow them to take each fatal blow from sans.

You can’t wait to see which one of their souls break first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because you know I'm writing all this angst, all this angst  
> prepare for feels  
> All about dat angst, bout dat angst  
> prepare for feels  
> All about dat angst, bout dat angst  
> prepare for feels  
> bout dat angst...angst...angst
> 
> Yeah, it's pretty clear I got some angst to write  
> I just can't shake it, shake it, no matter how hard I try  
> Cuz I can't help but continue to imagine  
> So many genocides, much to my chagrin
> 
> Because Chara's baaaack  
> And poor sans, his bones are gonna craaaack  
> I know you'll think it hurts  
> But I'm here to tell ya it's only gonna get worse
> 
> Yeah, Chara told me don't worry bout your soul  
> Cuz everyone likes to drag their feels over coals  
> I feel this angst is going strong  
> So if that's what you're into, feel free to ride along :p
> 
>  
> 
> (I'm so dumb lol, I'm sorry XD I really should stop writing at 2am.)


	21. Break

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowie! We have almost reached 200 kudos!!! Thank you so much :D
> 
> Kind of exploring Chara here a bit, because they may be involved in some other stories I have planned.
> 
> Hope you like it!

You laugh at the skeleton pinned underneath you. Your left foot is standing over his clavicle, and your right is pressed down against his sternum. He cries out as you put more weight on your left leg and grind his clavicle into the tile.

Reaching down, you hook your finger on one of his ribs and yank it slowly upward. “How many times have I killed you now, sans?”

He whimpers in pain but doesn’t respond. You pull harder and he screams. “f-f-fuck!”

“That’s not a number, sans.” you say coldly as you pull the rib upward and it snaps.

“f-four…” he whimpered as his tears spilled onto the floor.

“Ah, yes. That’s right. And how many times have I killed your brother?” you purr, pressing your right foot harder into his sternum and leaning down into his face.

“seventeen…” he says weakly, refusing to meet your eyes.

You smirk and grasp the underside of his jawbone and force him to look at you. “And how many times have you killed me?” you growl.

“twenty-three.” he whines beneath you, hand reaching out to clutch his broken rib.

“That’s not really fair, is it?” you snarl, grabbing another rib and pulling it to the point of breaking.

He cries out and agony and begins to sob. “kid…please…kid i know you’re in there somewhere…please…help me…”

You slap him and spit in his face. “How many times do I have to repeat myself, you stupid skeleton? The name is Chara.”

Pain hazed eye sockets focus on your face and he grimaces. “kid…” Searching glowing orbs find nothing but hatred in your eyes.

“Monsters are so disgusting.” you growl as you grind his clavicle into the ground again, relishing the choked screams it elicits.

“kid…i won’t give up on you…i love…”

You punch him in the teeth before he can finish his sentence. “Love? Ha! Don’t begin to think you know anything about love.” 

You lean closer into his face and sneer. “This is your fault, you know.” His eye sockets widen in shock at your words. “You wished for a reset. You wanted the human to die.”

“no! i never wished for that!” he cried out.

“Did you forget your desires just before your friend fought Asgore?” you press harder on his sternum. You weren’t able to take control of the human in that timeline, but you kept within the shadows and observed. Waiting for the time you could take over.

Shame and realization show clearly on his face. “but…i didn’t…”

“You were selfish. You wanted the human all to yourself.” You ground his clavicle further and smiled in satisfaction as it began to crumble. “You couldn’t be happy for the human and your brother.”

“but…”

“You’d rather see the human die than have them fall in love with someone else!”

“no! i never wanted-“

Another rib breaks and a scream echoes throughout the judgement hall.

“You attacked them when they only wanted to help you.” These stolen memories were proving to be quite useful. Why hadn’t you thought to use them sooner? They made manipulation so much easier. sans didn’t need to know that you were lying.

“You betrayed them.”

“i never…wanted…i didn’t…” he whispers between choked sobs. “you’re right…i hurt them…”

A triumphant grin spread across your face as he muttered, “i…was selfish and i…put my happiness above theirs…”

Sorrowful eye sockets gazed up at your face. “kid…i’m so sorry. i shouldn’t have ever thought the things i did. i should’ve been happy that you loved my brother.” His hands tightened around his broken ribs. “it’s all my fault…even though it was for just a few seconds, i should’ve have ever wished for a reset.” Tears flowed from his eye sockets. “i’m so sorry.”

You stare at him blankly for a moment, and then begin to laugh. Your whole body shakes and you have trouble standing still, but you manage to keep the fool pinned. “Oh my god, how stupid are you?” You withdraw your weapon and wave it in front of his face. “You think some pathetic words are going to bring the kid back? You think that’s all it take to be forgiven?”

“no.” his simple word caused you to halt.

“What?”

“i don’t deserve to be forgiven,” He smiled sadly, “but i won’t give up on them. i know they can come back. i know they’re still there, somewhere.” He wheezed out a small chuckle. “i’ll keep waiting for them…to come back.”

“You idiot!” you scream and punch him again. Dammit. You had been so close. Here he was, broken and sobbing on the ground beneath your feet, and he still had the nerve to smile?! To laugh and act as if there was still hope?!

“I hate you!” You scream again and wrap your fingers around his cervical vertebrae.

“I hate all monsters!” You clench your fingers around the bone.

He gazes at you sadly, and with a strangled breath he says, “i won’t give up on you kid.” He’s not talking to you. He doesn’t even see you.

Maniacal laughter leaks from between your teeth and you growl, “Don’t act like…you know what love is! Don’t you dare act like you know what it means.” Fingernails dig into the bone and he winces. “The only thing I love is watching your bones crumple into dust. I hate everyone! Everything must die!”

He sighs in defeat, but that damn smile is still on his face. “it’s ok kid, i believe in you. i know you’ll come back when you’re ready.”

“Monsters shouldn’t have been banished to the underground!” you scream, insane laughter shaking your whole body. You’re crying, but you don’t know why. “They should’ve all been exterminated!”

_You don’t believe that._

You freeze as a familiar voice echoes within your mind.

“What?” you whisper quietly, forgetting about the disgusting creature pinned beneath your heel.

_Each time we reset, I get glimpses of who you used to be._

You scowl as the voice whispers in your head. “You don’t know anything about me, idiot.”

_Not much, but I do know you used to care about some monsters._

“Stop talking.” you snarl.

_You had…sadness…within you…and anger…_

“I said stop talking!”

_So much sadness…and you wanted to-_

“Shut up!” you scream.

sans gazes up at you, confused and unaware of the internal conversation. “kid, is that you?”

_But then…when you died…you were only left with-_

“Shut up!” Anger and fear swirled within you as you raised your blade. “Just shut up!” you shout as you bring the knife down through sans’ eye socket, shattering his skull from within.

He grunted as he took the blow and looked up at you sadly. His body began to crumble away, but that damn smile was still there. “i won’t give up on you, kid.” he whispered as his body dissolved.

You dropped the knife and stumbled back from the dust. Rage shook your whole body as you glared down at your hands. “I am going to kill you so many times, sans.” You spit out towards the dust, your throat raw with hate. “Until you can’t find a reason to smile again.”

Hands still shaking with anger you turn your attention inward, “And you-“ You sneer as the idiot shrieks in pain. Venomous thoughts in the form of needles pierce through their soul. “How many times will you have to die before you learn to keep your mouth shut?”

You grasp the air and turn it counterclockwise again.

“I will break you.”

“I will break you all.”


	22. Hope

“Aw, you look mad, sans.” you say with a smirk as you lounge on one of his floating bones like a platform. He seemed downright pissed that you were using his attack to relax. You twirled your knife and rolled over to your side, looking down at him. “I thought you would’ve been happy. It’s been, what, like a hundred timelines since you’ve seen your little buddy?”

Even from so high up you could see him grit his teeth and his eye sockets flash with anger.

“I thought you would be a little more grateful.” you say with a dismissive shrug and leer at him. “I let them have their body back for a whole month, minus the memories of course.” You giggle quietly to yourself as his fists shake at his sides. This was always your favorite part. Watching his calm and apathetic demeanor shatter before your eyes. “It’s not my fault they died.” you purred and sat up, a sneer spreading wide across your face. “I mean really, them slipping and drowning in that near-frozen river? Who could’ve seen that coming?” you said sarcastically and laughed at his distraught face. You may or may not have influenced their leg to step in a certain place and caused them to fall to their demise. Who could say really?

“shut up!” he screamed and a gasterblaster fired at you. You just chuckled and leapt to another bone.

You really should’ve started doing this sooner. Bringing his hope up and sending it crashing down so rapidly was much more effective than just killing him.

You glanced over your shoulder at him. “Wow, sans, you’re really losing it aren't you?” You watched his form shake with ragged breaths as his eye sockets glared at you. Another gasterblaster appeared before your face and you smiled, “I’m beginning to think you enjoy killing us.” you taunt.

A strangled cry interrupted you, and you glanced back down at the skeleton again. The gasterblaster faded away as he fell to his knees and braced himself against the tile. Tears dripped onto the floor as his shaky voice drifted upward to you, “that’s not true. i’ve never wanted to kill them…i don’t know what else to do…” His voice cracks as he sobs, “i don’t know how else to help…their determination isn’t strong enough to overcome…or reset…”

He’s stopped attacking you now, and has been reduced to a pathetic weeping form beneath you. Ugh, maybe you pushed him too far. You still need the idiot to die again. Their soul still has enough determination to maintain some sense of identity within the darkness.

Suddenly, sans’ skull lifted up and he gazed upward at you with a torn expression. “kid! please believe me, i’ve never wanted to hurt you! i just…i don’t know how else to help you reset or how to help you regain determination.” He clenched his fists and scrubbed the tears from his eye sockets, “i haven’t given up on you. each reset…i wait for you to come back…”

_sans…_

You scowl and send venomous thoughts inward and the idiot screams as shadows pierce their soul.

You clench the handle of your blade tightly and glare at sans. “You…you…idiot!” You scream as you leap down, jumping from bone to bone until you land with a thud upon the tile. Glaring through your hair at him, seething with rage, you snarl through your teeth. “Just how many times do I have to kill you before you realize your hope means nothing?”

He just smiled sadly and shoved his hands in his pockets, saying nothing and allowing the bones surrounding you to disappear.

Your fingernails bit into your palm as you hissed. “Shall I kill your brother a hundred, no a thousand times more?!” You raised your knife and charged forward.

His eye socket glowed blue once more and you smiled, feeling satisfied. He was going to fight you again. Good.

You scream as you swung your knife, not really intending to hit your target. You try to hide your triumphant smirk as he manifests a gasterblaster at his side and fires, aiming for your heart.

Time to swap.

You giggle with delight as the idiot takes the blow for you again. The world around you begins to get hazy as the body dies.

Perhaps next timeline you’ll tell sans that each time he’s dealt a final blow, he’s actually been killing his precious little friend.

* * *

You catch the body as life begins to fade from their eyes. A gurgled gasp of pain falls from their lips and blood drips down your jacket. “kid…i’m sorry…” you whisper as you hold them close to your rib cage, paying no mind as the world shatters and dissolves around you once more.

Glazed eyes look deep into your eye sockets. “sa-“ the words are drowned as blood gurgles from their throat. Their body shudders as they cough and clutch at their chest. You gently lay them down on the floor and kneel down at their side. You have no idea who this is. Is it Chara? Is it the kid?

Your eye sockets search their face, but their eyes can’t focus on you anymore. Shaking hands hover over their wound as you whisper, “i…i tried to make it as painless as possible. i sent magic through the shot to numb the pain…” Your tears mixed with their blood as you watch them die. “i’m sorry…i’m not strong enough…i don’t know how to help…i don’t know how to save you…”

You cover your face with your hands as you weep over their body. They watch you with a slack jawed expression, their chest barely rising and falling now. You wince and lean over their body, clutching at your skull and squeezing your eye sockets shut.

“kid i…” you jump as a weak hand rests on your radius. Looking at their face again you think you can see a small smile. The hand slowly lifts up and rests on your mandible, the warmth of blood coats the bone, but you hardly notice. They closed their eyes and smiled wider. “sans.” they whispered.

Then, everything reset.


	23. Get Dunked On, Chara

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so sans finds out something terrible and tries something a little...different to help the human.
> 
> Basically, soul stuff ^_^

“How many timelines has it been now, sans?” you call out from across the corridor, watching him as he pants and leans against the pillar.

“don’t…know…” he wheezes between breaths and wipes sweat from his brow bone.

You smirk as you pick your fingernails with the tip of your knife. He’s stopped attacking once again. So predictable. It was getting much easier to wear him down to the point of exhaustion. He almost always used the same patterns, and even when he tried to change things and confuse you, there were still so many similarities. “I thought numbers were your thing. Didn’t you like to taunt me about how many times you’ve beaten me over how many times I killed you?”

He didn’t bother to respond as he gulped greedily at the air, still bracing himself against that pillar. Why does a skeleton even need to breathe?

“I think it’s been quite a few now, hundreds at least-“ you mutter as you walk closer to him and smile smugly, “-so why don’t I give you a reward for lasting this long?”

He chuckled darkly as he forced himself to stand and face you when you stopped in front of him. “you gonna kill me again? not much of a reward.” he says sarcastically.

You just shrug and say, “Well, yes I probably will, but I was thinking of something else.” You lean forward in his face as he raises a brow bone in confusion. “Did you know that ever single time you’ve killed me, I’ve actually swapped places with your precious idiot?”

“what?” he squeaks out and you laugh at the look of horror that consumes the depths of his eye sockets.

“Yup, well accept for that time you pushed me off the cliff-“ your words were cut short as a hard object smacks into your forehead. You cry out in pain and cover your face in your hands. What the hell?! Did this damn skeleton head-butt you?

You glared at him through your fingers as his body heaved with anger. Before you could say anything more, he tackled you to the ground and used his magic to send your knife flying. You strained your head to look behind you, and saw it embedded in the wall. Dammit.

You struggled against the skeleton, but he held you fast. He doesn’t flinch when you spit in his face, and you can’t break free from his grip.

“say that again.” he growls.

Your eyes narrow, “What, didn’t here me the first time, you bonehead?”

He just grit his teeth in frustration and muttered, “tell me it isn’t true.”

You smirk at him, “Sorry, sans, but it is. Each and every time. I’ve traded places with your idiot and let them die.”

“no.” he whispered.

“Yes, you’ve killed them. Every time.”

“no!”

His grip loosens as the horrible truth is revealed and you start to sit up again. He’s still leaning over you, but his eye sockets have gone dark and unfocused.

You smile triumphantly at his empty face. “I told you. It’s kill or be killed. You can try to deny it all you want but-”

“chara.” sans said stiffly.

Your eyes widen in surprise. It’s the first time he’s ever addressed you directly.

“get dunked on.” 

You shout out in pain as that stupid skeleton head-butts you again. “Dammit! That hurt!”

You writhe on the ground as your head pounds in pain. sans moves quickly and pins your arms beneath his tibias. You hiss as the bone squeezes down on your biceps, cutting off circulation and causing your fingers to tingle.

“hey.” he says flatly and you glare up at him.

“What?” you snap and try to break free. He’s surprisingly heavy and hardly budges as you try to wriggle away.

He grabs both sides of your face firmly with his cold, skeletal hands and stares deep into your eyes. Your heart flutters in fear as you stare into those dark, black, empty eye sockets.

“don’t want you to get the wrong idea.”

“Huh?”

“just to be clear, this ain’t for you.”

“Wh-“ 

The skeleton interrupts you again.

Not with words.

He does something strange.

Really strange.

His eye sockets are closed now as he presses his teeth to your lips.

What the hell??

You squirm and try to escape, but he has you firmly pinned to the ground.

Disgusting.

You manage to break one arm free and punch him in the side of the skull.

This is so disgusting!

You punch him again, and he grunts in pain but doesn’t move.

This vile creature!!

Punch.

Is he kissing you?!

Your knuckles begin to bleed as you continue to punch him.

Get off of me you disgusting creep!!

He grunts again as his mandible begins to chip, but he holds firm.

A strange feeling wells within your chest, but it isn’t coming from you.

_sans…?_

No!

What is this feeling?!

The feeling spreads outward from your chest throughout your body, focusing in your heart and head. What is it?! What is he doing to you?

Somehow, the idiot manages to find strength within their soul and call out again.

_sans!_

Your head is buzzing with this strange feeling. It feels…warm…pleasant…nice…

You hate it.

Get away from me!

You scream within your mind and against his teeth as you punch him again.

The feeling is getting stronger now, and you feel your control slipping away.

_kid?_

You freeze. The skeleton’s voice echoes in your mind.

_sans!_

What is going on??

The feeling continues to burn within your chest and you can feel their souls become stronger together.

He’s reaching out with his soul to the idiot, and pulling them out of the darkness!

Your arm falls to the floor and tears begin to leak from your eyes. You’re not sure if they’re yours or the idiot’s.

I can’t understand.

I just can’t understand.


	24. Rewind

You grunt again as the brat punches you. It hurts, and you feel your mandible cracking, but you’ve endured worse. God knows you’ve endured worse.

The human’s soul is so dim now, like a pinprick of light in an ocean of agony and regret.

You focus on this light with all the energy you can muster, but each time you reach out, it seems to retreat further within the abyss. Flinching away from anything that reaches out to it.

_sans…?_ A tentative voice whispers after a moment.

The sudden shock of hearing their voice almost breaks your focus. You inhale a sharp breath and send a response along the same wave. There had been a few timelines the kid had managed to take control over Chara, genuinely, but they never had the determination to stay or continue for very long.

Now…

Their voice…

It’s so weak, like a distant memory…

_kid?_

_sans!_ The voice calls out in a weak cry mixed with confusion and relief.

You gasp again as Chara screams against your teeth, but you can barely hear them. You focus on the kid’s soul, envisioning a link between their soul and yours. The kid whimpers and hides further away, and you can feel their regret and shame. Gritting your teeth, you send out a thread of your soul to latch onto theirs like a lifeline, and begin to pull them from their sea of despair. It shines in the darkness with a thin, blue glow.

_You really think it’d be that easy?_ Another voice laughs from above.

Blackened tar drips from above, coating the connection between your souls. You groan in pain as it burns straight to your soul.

_You’re quite rude._ Chara sneers from within their shared mind.

_Please…Chara…leave him alone…_ The kid whimpers.

Chara ignores them and continues. _You know, if you wanted to come in and join the fun, you just had to ask!_

Black weblike fingers erupt from the chasm, gripping the link between your souls and drags you down into the abyss. 

Your vision goes black.  
 _  
Dark._

_It’s so dark._

_Why is it so dark?_

_You shiver as a wave of regret washes over your soul._

_Kid._

_The kid is lost._

_Where are they?_

_You hold your hand over your sternum, just above where your own soul is focused, and extend it around you. It makes you feel vulnerable and exposed, and you hiss in pain through your teeth as wave after wave of agony, pain, and sorrow wash over you. The kid…this is the kid’s suffering. You can also feel anger, hatred, betrayal and fear. It feels alien, and wrong, as if it were forced to reside within the human’s mind. That must be Chara’s influence. You grimace as you search through the shadows for any signs of the human or Chara._

_You hear a whimper within the shadows._

_‘kid?’_

_A flash of light to your left shines bright for just a moment, but is quickly snuffed out._

_You cautiously wander through the darkness towards the flash, and the thrumming within your rib cage grows stronger._

_‘where are you?’_

_Another sob and flash of light. A hiss of rage and the light disappears._

_You continue forward in the direction you last saw the light, ignoring as the shadows around you twist and turn in disgusting coils of corrupted memories and fears._

_You choke when you finally spot them._

_Suspended in the air, their entire body, except their eyes, is encased in a black sludge that restricts their movements. Tears flow from their eyes and drip to the floor, collecting in a pool below their feet. In front of their chest glows a dim representation of their soul. A small heart, tainted with black tendrils constricted around it, infecting it with the black enmity of Chara’s spirit._

_‘Ah, good you found them!’ Chara’s voice chimed all around in a sarcastic tone._

_‘chara.’ you growled menacingly into the abyss around you. ‘you better release them right now, or you’re gonna have a bad time.’_

_The voice cackles around you, but you’re focused on the small whine you hear from the human you love. Their eyes flutter open as they gaze down at you, lifting their head up slightly._

_‘hey, kid.’ you whisper gently, ignoring Chara and reaching out your hand to them. ‘remember me?’_

_Tears well up in their eyes as muffles sobs come through the tar covering their mouth and nose._

_‘it’s ok, kid.’ you smile softly and say, ‘you don’t need tibia afraid. i’m right here.’_

_‘Oh, how sweet.’ Chara’s voice is much louder now as it booms from behind you. You turn slowly to stare into the red demonic eyes of your foe. A disfigured smirk appears, ‘It makes me sick.’_

_Your hand flies to your sternum as you can feel the buzzing of your linked souls weaken. You glance up at the kid, still smiling, and whisper, ‘don’t worry, i got this.’_

_Turning away so they can’t see your smile falter, you stare up at Chara and widen your stance. You can’t materialize bones or gasterblasters here, but…_

_You focus your magic into your left eye socket and the bond of your souls, a grin spreading across your face._

_Chara’s wicked jaws open, and tar flows forth, pouring onto the floor and coating your feet. You hiss in pain as the substance makes contact with your bone, clenching your skull as a memory of a memory invades your mind._

_Papyrus._

_Murdered before your eyes._

_100 times over._

_Your knees buckle under the weight of torment that grips your soul. Just as quickly as it had started, the images stop._

_Your rib cage heaves as you inhale deeply, trying to remain calm. Glancing up at the kid again, their eyes shine with a mournful understanding._

_So this is what that sludge is for. The kid has had to feel this so many times over…_

_You shudder at the thought._

_You have to stay focused._

_More thick, black tendrils of hatred reach out to you, attempting to drown you in sorrow. You manage to teleport away from them, but each time your feet touch a surface, they fly toward you full speed and sending you further away from the kid._

_Their head drops down again, but not before you see a glimpse of misery._

_You hiss in pain again as another tendril brushes against your fibula, sending more corrupted images pounding into your skull._

_Chara’s maniacal laughter echoes around you as you fall to your knees, the appendages twist and writhe above you, preparing to consume you in darkness._

_A small flicker of teal catches your gaze._

_It’s dim and you plunge your hand into the depths of murky chaos to retrieve it._

_It’s a memory. An untainted memory. Of your human. You hug it close to your sternum as you teleport away from the tentacles that seek to kill you._

_‘kid!’ you call out and hold up the memory as it glimmers and shines between your phalanges. ‘remember, you had friends!’_

_Chara hisses in rage as the memory shines brighter and plays before your eyes. It’s a memory from so many timelines ago, when Papyrus escorted the human through Hotland. They had stopped at Undyne’s to befriend her, and even ended up showing her how to cook tacos._

_The kid’s eyes widened and the darkness around you churned as Chara howled in rage, intent on erasing you completely. You dodge and weave, searching for glimmer of memories within the shadows, and find another one._

_A blue one._

_You alter gravity to bring it closer to you before diving away from another one of Chara’s strikes._

_You hold it high as it shines forth. You’re sitting with the human on the couch, just the two of you, and are watching a movie. You had convinced them to stay for a few days to gather some supplies before continuing on from Snowdin. As the movie played, sleep overcame the human, and they began to fall asleep against your arm. When you tried to grab them a pillow, they held you close and snuggled into your jacket._

_Your cheekbones tingle as the memory fades. That was the timeline when you first realized you had fallen for them. ‘we…we were friends…’ you whispered, looking up at the human._

_Tears fell from their eyes as they tried to nod in understanding. A small laugh escapes your teeth as the link between your souls resonates, becoming stronger. The webs around their soul begin to fall away._

_It’s working._

_Chara screams, but you teleport too fast for them to catch you, finding strength in the bond between your souls._

_An orange one._

_You quickly free it from it’s restraints and hold it high, turning away slightly as it plays._

_This one is with Papyrus._

_Papyrus had tried futilely to free the human from Mettaton’s grasp as he danced with them in the lab. The human’s cheeks were flushed as they twirled and dipped with the robot. Papyrus tried again and again to stop the dance, but couldn't catch him. It wasn’t until Mettaton insulted Papyrus that the human found the courage to slap him on the face and defend the tall skeleton. Afterward, Papyrus pouted as they continued through Hotland until the human asked him what was wrong. They embraced as the human comforted him and told him there was no reason to be jealous as he was the only one they wanted to hold._

_‘pa-papyrus lo-‘ your voice cracked slightly and you coughed. ‘papyrus loved you.’_

_The tendrils chasing you now were weakened and slower, but you continued to teleport from space to space quickly, not wanting to give them a chance to catch you. You scanned the area, but couldn’t locate Chara. All you could feel was seething rage around you._

_The sludge around the human’s body begins to melt away, and they gasp when their mouth is freed, inhaling gulps of air greedily._

_‘sans!’ they cried out. ‘I-I’m starting to remember!’_

_Your rib cage thrums in response as their soul begins to find the determination to hold on. You quickly scan the area around you to find another memory._

_Yellow._

_You hold it up with a grin on your face, knowing they’ll love this one._

_You watch as the human sits on the couch, humming to themselves as they text Alphys. It had turned into a weekly event, and every day of the week they would text back and forth all the different anime the other had to see. The kid skips up to Alphys’ door and raps on it lightly, smiling a greeting as it opens before walking inside. They stay up for hours discussing the pros and cons of each anime they watch, and why without a doubt MewMew: Kissy-Cutie 2 was NOT better than the first one._

_‘I remember that!’ the kid laughs with tears in their eyes. ‘We used to stay up for hours and I’d be so exhausted the next day, but I didn’t care.’ The sludge was almost gone now, but some still lingered on their limbs. Their body sagged as their knees gave out, and their arms were still stretched high._

_‘How dare you!?’ Chara screamed, but their voice wasn’t as strong as before. Rage bubbled and churned within the void as you could feel them trying to maintain a hold on the human’s soul._

_Frantically, you search all around you for a memory, but can’t find one._

_‘sans?’ an anxious voice calls out to you as the wave of anger approached closer._

_‘gimme a sec.’ you mutter under your breath. It turns into a sigh of relief as you finally find another memory._

_Another blue one._

_You retrieve it from the darkness and hold it between your hands as the memory vibrates in your bones. You glance back at the kid and hesitate for a moment._

_‘sans?’ the kid calls out again, panic creeping into their voice as the black sludge begins to climb up their body once more. You clutch the memory close to your sternum and search around the shadows for another one. ‘sans, what is it?’ Worry dripped from their voice and you glance at them again, gasping in surprise when you see Chara’s demonic eyes glowing behind them._

_‘Yes, sans, what is it? Must be quite awful if you don’t want to show them.’_

_The human screams as they realize Chara hovers behind them._

_‘Blue. That means it involves you, doesn’t it?’ Chara persisted._

_A wicked sneer glowed from behind the human, ‘Is it the first time they killed you?’_

_‘Or the first time you killed them?’ Chara sighed happily, ‘Ah, yes, the first death. That truly would be a precious memory, wouldn’t it?’_

_Chara new damn well that the memory you clutched to your rib cage wasn't a bad one like the masses that swirled around you, but that didn't stop them from planting seeds of doubt into the kid’s mind._

_Black sludge began to crawl up their legs again, faster this time. ‘sans?’ their voice cracked in panic, ‘w-what is it?’_

_You glared at Chara and grit your teeth, turning your skull to the side as you held up the memory. You remember it vividly._

_The kid had caught you sleeping on the couch and asked if you wanted to talk. You had known this conversation would be coming ever since that day, but you had still tried to avoid it as long as possible. The human smiled at you when you cracked a few jokes to hide your nervousness, which hadn’t really worked very well, and sat down next to you. The human had blushed and began to tell you stories about traditions up on the surface, and watched as your face twisted into confusion at the unexpected topic. The human had explained a thing called mistletoe, and laughed as you explained you knew what it was. Their shyness had put you at ease, and you watched the memory replay the moments of you teasing and laughing together before their feelings slipped out._

_The memory faded and you glanced at the kid through the side of your eye socket, ‘i…i loved you, too.’ you whispered._

_‘sans…’ the kid said, with fresh tears falling down their face._

_Chara howled in rage as the remaining tar melted from the human’s limbs and they began to fall. You teleported just below them, and caught them in your arms before jumping back, away from Chara._

_‘You…you idiots!’ Chara screamed and the ocean of mayhem frothed and foamed at their rage. ‘You think you’ve won? How stupid can you be?!’_

_The human cried out as a small remaining thread of darkness constricted around their soul._

_‘I’ll just reset again! I was so close to breaking you both! We’re not done!’ Chara’s insane laughter echoed around you as you held the human close._

_‘sans.’ the human said, their calm voice a stark contrast to the fear and sorrow within their eyes._

_The world began to melt and you groaned in frustration._

_A light squeeze on your hand brought your attention to the human once more._

_‘I love you too, sans.’_

_A light kiss brushed the bone that bridges your eye sockets._

_Then everything disappeared.  
_


	25. Replay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so this chapter was inspired by the game when you spare Papy at the beginning of a genocide run and this comic I absolutely love:
> 
> An Act of Kindness:  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rFYqEDY0DQ&index=10&list=LLqXrtYQRzEGEuduXbI4OLCQ&ab_channel=DryeGuy

What am I doing?

You ask yourself over and over as you reflect the last few hours of your life. You were insulted by a flower, saved by a goat lady, and then stopped by said goat lady when you told her you wanted to go home.

She had told you that you didn't have to hurt any monsters and yet they all seemed perfectly fine hurting you. Rubbing your arm as you walked with a scowl on your face. That stupid Froggit’s attack hurt a lot more than you thought it would.

_Kill…_

Afterward, she invited you into your home which was nice. Then informed you that you’d be staying there for the rest of your life. Not so nice. Little bit creepy. You had to get away from the crazy lady especially when she threatened to destroy the only exit. Sighing inwardly as you relived that moment. She had blocked your path with a strange look on her face. She almost looked…sad? But then she threw fireballs at you! What else were you supposed to do?!

_Kill or be killed…_

You hold your head in your hands and try to shake the images away. You didn’t think that she’d dissolve into dust after just one hit! You were only trying to defend yourself! A shiver danced along your spine and you began to cry.

You hadn’t meant to kill her…

Right?

_Kill or be killed._

You scrub away the tears in your eyes with the sleeve of your sweater and continue forward. You only manage to take a few steps before a Snowdrake pops out of the snow and shoots icicles toward you. You scream as the ice burns your skin. Tears well up in your eyes again, and you can dimly hear it make a joke. Now he’s making fun of you? You scowl at the monster and raise your knife high, slashing through it’s chest.

_Kill._

Your wounds started to feel a little better as the monster dissolved into dust. You didn't want to hurt them, but that seemed to be the only option you had. Every single one of them attacked you first. Did anyone really expect you to be friendly after getting jumped?

Clutching your head as you sink to your knees in the snow, you cry out in frustration. It sounded logical. It made sense.

_The way of this world…is kill or be killed._

Why did it feel so wrong?

Maybe…if you don’t make eye contact…they won’t hurt you?

You stand up again, brushing the snow off your jeans, and pocket the knife. Holding your hands on either side of your head to block your peripherals, you run through the snow and keep your gaze cast slightly downward.

* * *

You awake with a gasp, sitting up and glancing around your surroundings.

You’re in your room.

Again.

With a groan, you flop back down onto the mattress and cover your eye sockets with your hands.

You had been so close…

Bone scraped against bone as you clawed at your skull and ground your teeth in frustration. Rolling to your side, you look at the clock beside your bed and a chill runs through your bones.

Oh no.

Oh no, oh no, oh no.

The human would’ve already emerged from the ruins by now.

“papyrus?” you call out anxiously as you through off the covers and tug on your jacket. Peeking around you bedroom door as it opens you call out again, “papryus?”

No response.

Oh no.

You run down the stairs to the kitchen.

He isn’t here.

In your panic, you almost miss the note on the table:

SANS,

I HAD A LOT OF DIFFICULTY WAKING YOU THIS MORNING, AND THERE WERE REPORTS OF A HUMAN SIGHTING. I HAD WISHED TO BRING YOU ALONG WITH ME, BUT AS A FUTURE ROYAL GUARDSMAN I COULD NOT DELAY MY DUTY ANY LONGER. THE REPORTS STATED THAT THE HUMAN WAS…WELL…NOT FRIENDLY. THEY…WANT TO KILL EVERYBODY AND ARE VERY STRONG. BUT WORRY NOT, DEAR BROTHER! THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL STOP THEM! I…I HAVE A PLAN. I THINK THAT…IF I SHOW THEM KINDNESS, PERHAPS WE CAN BE FRIENDS? THEY MUST BE SO CONFUSED OR SCARED. YOU ALWAYS SAID I WAS THE GREATEST FRIEND TO HAVE, SO WHO COULD BE BETTER AT THIS THAN ME?

NYEHFULLY YOURS,

PAPYRUS

“no.” you whisper under your breath as the note falls from your fingers. “no, no, no, no, no.” you say over and over again as you throw open the door and run to the place where Papyrus always planned his ambush.

* * *

“HALT, HUMAN!” A loud voice calls out within the snow that swirls around you.

Shielding your eyes, you stumble forward to try and catch a glimpse of your opponent.

“HEY, QUIT MOVING WHILE I’M TALKING TO YOU!” it calls out again.

“What?” you try to say, but the wind carries your words away. You slip and fall forward onto your knees.

“I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE SOME THINGS TO SAY. FIRST: YOU’RE A FREAKING WEIRDO!” Ouch, that was mean. “NOT ONLY DO YOU NOT LIKE PUZZLES. BUT THE WAY YOU SHAMBLE ABOUT FROM PLACE TO PLACE…THE WAY YOUR HANDS ARE ALWAYS COVERED IN DUSTY POWDER.” You push yourself up off the ground as he speaks and flinch at his words, trying to wipe off the dust from your sleeves. “IT FEELS…LIKE YOUR LIFE IS GOING DOWN A DANGEROUS PATH.” Dangerous? But…you were only defending yourself…

_Kill him…before he kills you._

“HOWEVER, I, PAPYRUS, SEE GREAT POTENTIAL WITHIN YOU! EVERYONE CAN BE A GREAT PERSON IF THEY TRY!” Your eyebrows knit together in confusion at his words. You can be a great person? Does that mean he thinks you’re bad?

_Kill…him…_

“AND ME, I HARDLY HAVE TO TRY AT ALL!!!” Subconsciously, you smile at his words. “NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!!!” You want to see this person that’s talking to you. You take a few more steps forward. “HEY, QUIT MOVING!” He sounds nervous now. “THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT! HUMAN! I THINK YOU ARE IN NEED OF GUIDANCE!” You hold your arm up to try and peer through the snow at the owner of this loud and boisterous voice. “SOMEONE NEEDS TO KEEP YOU ON THE STRAIGHT AND NARROW!” His voice shakes a bit as he says, “BUT WORRY NOT I, PAPYRUS, WILL GLADLY BE YOUR FRIEND AND TUTOR!”

Friend?

He wants to be my…friend?

_Kill…him…now…_

“I WILL TURN YOUR LIFE RIGHT AROUND!!!” He announces happily.

I want to see his face.

You cautiously make your way through the snow with your arms outstretched.

He seems familiar…

Who is he?

“I SEE YOU ARE APPROACHING. ARE YOU OFFERING A HUG OF ACCEPTANCE?” You giggle slightly as you walk forward a few more steps. “WOWIE!! MY LESSONS ARE ALREADY WORKING!!” The shadowy figure is starting to become clearer as you approach. “I, PAPYRUS, WELCOME YOU WITH OPEN ARMS!”

He’s a skeleton.

_Kill…_

A really tall skeleton.

_Or be killed…_

You stop in your tracks and gaze up at him with fear in your eyes. He’s a lot bigger than a Froggit.

His arms are outstretched with a huge smile on his face.

_Kill him now!_

But he’s not…attacking?

“IT’S OK HUMAN.” Papyrus says gently, “I WILL NOT HURT YOU. I ONLY WISH TO HELP YOU.”

He seems so…familiar.

“Papyrus?” you ask hesitantly and his smile widens.

“YES! THAT’S MY NAME! WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE FRIENDS WITH THE GREAT PAPYRUS?”

“Papryus…” you whisper quietly to yourself, thinking for a moment. Where had you heard that name before?  
_  
“HEY HUMAN.” Papyrus says and you stop just at the end of the kitchen._

_You start to turn around, “Wha-“ Then suddenly a skelekiss is pressed lightly to your forehead. “H-Hey what was that!” You squeal as your hand flies to your face. You feel your cheeks increase in shades of red as he grins triumphantly at you._

_“NYEH HEH HEH! OH COME ON HUMAN IT WAS JUST A SIMPLE KISS.”_  
  
You feel fire burning within your cheeks as the memory hits you. Oh my god! The skeleton had kissed you! What?

You turn the memory over in your mind. Something about it had seemed so domestic and happy. You chew on the fingernail of your thumb and look up at Papyrus, who was still patiently waiting for his hug.

Could that have been real?

_Kill him!_

That other voice screamed in your mind again and you sighed. 

But…I don’t want to…

You ignore its protests as you drop your knife and hold out your arms. “Papyrus!” you exclaimed with a giggle and embraced the tall skeleton.

This feels…nice…

More memories resurface in your mind as you nuzzle into his rib cage.

How could I have forgotten him?

“SANS!” Papyrus exclaims excitedly as his grip loosens around you, “LOOK, SANS! I FIXED IT! THEY DIDN’T DO A VIOLENCE!!!”

You laugh at him as you pull away from his embrace. 

“TO BE HONEST, I WAS A LITTLE AFRAID…” Papyrus muttered. “BUT YOU’RE ALREADY BECOMING A GREAT PERSON!” He chuckles and sniffs, “I’M SO PROUD I COULD CRY!!!”

You roll your eyes and smile up at him, before catching a glimpse of the newcomer.

He’s another skeleton.

He’s a bit shorter than Papyrus.

And he’s…familiar too…

His eye sockets are wide, his rib cage heaving, as he watches the two of you interact. He seems…terrified.

“You must be sans.” you say gently as you hold out your arms, trying to appear as nonthreatening as possible.

The lights in his eyes flicker back and forth as he scans your face. His anxious smile turns to relief as he whispers, “kid?”

Kid.

Kid.

Kid?

That nickname echoes in your mind over and over again.

_i-i loved you too…_

Eyes well up with tears as you head toward the smaller skeleton, “sans!” you sob.

Tears flow down his face as he smiles at you and holds his arms out to you.

Kid.

Kid.

You freeze.

Your mind isn’t done digging up old memories.

Your hands fly up to cover your mouth as horrible images flash behind your eyes.

“Oh my god.” you whisper just loud enough for you to hear. sans tilts his head to the side, the worried smile returning onto his face.

You fall to your knees and scream. “OH MY GOD!” Clawing at your head and pulling at your hair you scream again as you press your forehead into the snow. “Make it stop!” You’ve killed them.

You’ve killed them all.

Your friends.

Have died at your hand.

So many times.

_You idiot._ The voice giggles again in your mind as your body shudders under the weight of your sorrow.

“HUMAN?” Papyrus asks innocently from behind you.

“kid, are you ok?” sans asks with worry dripping from his voice.

Make it stop. Make it stop.

Your body heaves as gruesome images continue to flicker behind your eyes.

“I-I don’t want to remember!” you scream. “Make it go away!” Blood pounds in your brain as everything around you seems to freeze. Reset. You have to reset. Make it disappear.

_Oh, I can help with that._

“Wait I didn’t mean-“

You wake up in a bed of yellow flowers.

* * *

You sink your skull further into the fluff of your hood as you watch the door anxiously. The kid had come back last time, and reset when the weight of their sins hit them. You grit your teeth. You didn’t have the chance to talk to them before it all disappeared.

Please come back again this time.

You groan and lean against a tree, watching snowflakes drift lazily onto the ground.

I don’t know how many more times I can do this.

You jump as the stone door opens wide, the scraping sound echoing throughout the forest.

It’s the human again. They seem to be smiling with tears in their eyes as they say goodbye to someone over their shoulder.

Your eye sockets narrow as suspicious thrums within your rib cage as you watch them continue down the path. You perform the same tricks as always, smiling to yourself as they seem to get more flustered at the thought of being followed.

Here we go.

You gently hold their legs to the ground just as they reach the bridge, and casually stroll to them from behind. You stop just short of them and whisper, “Don’t you know how to greet a new pal?” The human shivers at your voice. “Turn around and shake my hand.” The magic releases their legs and they turn around with a small smile on their face.

“Of course, how rood of me. Put ‘er there buddy!” they say with a grin and offer you their right hand.

This hasn’t happened before.

Your smile falters slightly as you shove your left hand back in your pocket and grasp their right hand. Just as your phalanges grasp their hand-

ZAP!!

What the hell? 

You snatch back your hand as you glare at them in confusion. “Wh-what the?” you mutter under your breath.

The human is doubled over with laughter and wipes a tear from their eye. “I-I’m sorry. It’s just-“ Their sentence is broken between hiccups and you continue to watch them with a quizzical expression. “The look on your face-“ They snickered again and your brow bones furrowed. They hiccuped again and held up their right hand, revealing a hidden joy buzzer. “Ha the prankster has become the prankee! I got you so good!” The human puts their hands on their hips with a triumphant smirk.

Suspicion grows within you as you whisper, “How did you know I was going to prank you?”

The human stiffens a bit as their smile fades from their face. “U-um call it intuition? Great minds think alike?” Their smile twitches as they let out a nervous laugh.

You scratch the back of your skull with a sigh and say, “Ah, well I guess I can’t be mad over that. My name is sans. Nice to meet you.”

This timeline sure is…different.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also this story now loops into Rewind and Replay so the stuff that happens "next" is in that story. Keep in mind it was my first story I've ever written so please be gentle T.T
> 
> P.S. I'm kind of tempted to rewrite Rewind and Replay from sans' perspective...hmm...


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